His Girl
by Bridgy
Summary: Set in modern day high school; Jim is the new kid at school and gets bullied on his first day. Just when he thinks he's done for, Alison, a quiet and shy girl, steps in. From there a friendship sparks. As Jim grows close to her he finds out things he shouldn't know. Alison tries to push him away, making Jim want to protect her, and the more intimate their relationship becomes.
1. First Encounter

**This story will contain very mature content. There will be sex, abuse, fighting, etc. Viewer discretion is advised. You have been warned.**

Jim pushed his overbearing mother away as she tried giving him a kiss goodbye in the car.  
"Stop it, mom."  
"What? I can't give my son a kiss goodbye?"  
Jim clutched his book bag, getting ready to leave. "No. Not in front of everyone. That's embarrassing."  
His mother, Sarah, smiled. "You're adorable."  
Jim groaned. "Stop it."  
Sarah laughed. "Okay, okay."  
"I'll see you at 3:30. Bye." Jim opened the door and closed it just as quickly. His mother drove off and he was left to fend for himself in this hell called high school. After his father left, Jim had been to three different schools. This made it number four. It was hard making friends, and when he finally did make one he was gone again.

As he walked through the front doors he made his way to find the office. Normally Jim and his mom did this together either after school hours or on a Saturday, but his mom was busy with the new job she picked up and was hardly ever home now. This was his first time going it alone.  
Eventually he found the office but not without making it through a crowded hall full of kids. When he opened the door he was met with vanilla aroma and saw that the smell was coming from a candle. No one was in the office so he took a seat and decided to wait. It was not until after the first bell rang did the principle walk in.  
Surprised to see a new face sitting in his office he smiled at Jim nonetheless. "Good morning." Said the principle.  
Jim gave him an awkward smile.  
The principle continued. "You must be Jim Hawkins. Your mother called earlier this morning and informed me. Welcome." When Jim stayed silent the principle cleared his throat and pulled some papers out from one of his drawers. He handed them to Jim. "That stack of papers tells you what classes you have and where they will be. Also, in that packet, are the school guidelines and regulations, rules, etc. I imagine when you get to your classes your teachers will tell you what you need." He stood up then. "Now, I'll take you to your first class. Follow me."  
Jim stuffed the papers in his book bag, all except the paper with his classes. That one he folded and placed in the pocket of his jeans. When he reached his first class he read the sign painted in black on the door: English. At least it was an easy first class.  
When the door opened the teacher standing in front of the class stopped talking.  
"He's all yours." Said the principle, and he left.  
The female teacher introduced herself as Mrs. Harper and asked if Jim wanted to introduce himself to the class. Jim shook his head. "Take a seat over there, please." She said and continued with her lecture.

Throughout the day Jim had little difficulty finding his way to his classes. The paper had a well drawn out map that guided him. When lunch came around his stomach was grumbling. He reached for the five dollars his mom had given him and paid for his lunch, getting some change back in return.  
Once he found a place to sit, mildly trying to start a conversation with a group of kids, he decided not to engage and ate his food in silence. He wasn't ready make friends yet.  
Just when lunch was about over a girl made her way over to him. He didn't notice her at first; he was too busy eating his burrito.  
"Excuse me," she said.  
Jim finally looked up, seeing a girl with Asian and white-American attributes. He was a bit confused. Is this girl talking to me, he thought. Jim looked around him but saw that the girl was indeed talking to him and only him. "Yeah?" He finally said.  
She handed him an orange piece of paper: a flyer. "The school is looking for people to donate blood. You can sign up on this piece paper and give it to any one of your teachers."  
Jim read the requirements on the paper and then handed it back to the girl. "No, sorry. Maybe some other time."  
The girl didn't seem disappointed. Jim probably wasn't the first to say no to her. "That's okay," she told him. "But you should keep it just in case you change your mind." She left the paper on the table next to Jim. "By the way, my name is Alison. I haven't seen you around. Is this your first day?"  
Jim nodded. "Yeah."  
The girl looked shy all of a sudden. "And what's your name?" She asked.  
A lump was caught in Jim's throat. A girl had never shown so much interest in him before so quickly. He wasn't used it, although he wasn't sure he was all against it either. "My name is James, but everyone calls me Jim."  
Alison nodded once, holding the stack of papers close to her chest now. "Welcome to Newman High school, Jim." The bell rang right at the moment and Alison said goodbye, running off to catch her next class in time.

By the end of the day Jim had his fair share of text books. He didn't feel like hauling them all home with him, so he promptly made his way to his locker. Fortunately he found it without too much trouble. But as luck would have it he fumbled around with the lock, dropping his books.  
"Hey, watch it!" Said one kid as he closed his locker, getting ready to leave.  
Jim paid him no attention though and managed to open his locker. By this time the hall was empty. Everyone had gone home. He grumbled under his breath while his put books away. He was tired and still hungry and tomorrow would probably be the same. As he closed his locker door and turned around he was met by a group of four boys. Oh no, he thought. So it begins.  
"We saw you talking to Alison Stone at lunch. Want to tell us what that was all about?" Said the tallest of the group. He stood just a few inches taller than Jim.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Jim.  
The tall brute pushed Jim into his locker. "You were flirting with her. I saw her smiling." He got close to Jim's face. "If you think you'll be the first to get in to her pants, you're wrong." Jim rolled his eyes but this only angered the bully even more and it resulted in him getting punched in the gut. Jim hunched over, shielding his stomach now. He coughed. The bully leaned down and whispered into Jim's ear. "Just because you're new doesn't give you the right to have any pick of girls."  
"Oh hey, there you are, Jim!" Said a voice from down the hall.  
The bully, his friends, and Jim all looked up to see who it was. Alison was making her way over to them. Jim wanted to tell her to leave, this guy was a creep, but he remained silent.  
"I've been looking for you." She said. "I'm so glad you decided to donate blood." Jim gave her a confused look. He never agreed to such a thing, and then it accrued to him that this was just a diversion, a way to get him out of trouble. Alison grabbed his hand. "The principle wants to personally thank you." She lied and pulled him along.

Just before turning the corner Jim looked behind and saw a none too happy bully glaring at him. I'm going to pay for this moment, thought Jim.  
When the two were far away from the group of bullies Alison let go if his hand.  
"Don't let Brandon bother you. He's a bully to everyone. Even the teachers know this."  
"Why don't they do anything about it?" Jim asked her.  
Alison sighed. "Because Brandon's parents are made of money."  
Of course, thought Jim. "Great," he said as he winced in pain.  
"He hit you pretty hard huh?" She said.  
Jim nodded.  
"I'm sorry."  
Jim didn't understand. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong."  
Alison placed her hands behind her and looked at her feet. "I know, but I'm still sorry." Jim was going to say more to her but her phone rang and she read the text. "I have to go now. My dad is here. Ill see you tomorrow." She waved him goodbye and Jim watched her disappear as she made her way down the hall and through the front doors.  
"See you tomorrow..." He said quietly to himself.


	2. Twenty Questions

It was Jim's second day; his mom dropped him off but not before giving him a kiss on the cheek. He rubbed his face, making sure no traces of lipstick was left behind.  
No one paid him any attention as he walked through the doors which was exactly what he wanted. He just wanted to go through his day without anyone giving him a hard or asking him a question he didn't have the answer to and then feel stupid about it later; he just wanted to survive the day. As he reached his locker he managed to open it this time without trouble and grabbed his English book. With the thought of Brandon and his gang of bimbos, he hoped he wasn't in any of his classes. Yesterday he paid no attention to peoples faces, so he was unsure of who to look out for. And then Alison came to mind. Perhaps she would be in his English class.

It was five minutes before the bell for first class to begin as Jim made his way in the room. He took the furthest seat in the back and hung his book bag off the back of the chair. With the slam of his text book on the desk the bell rang, signaling everyone that they had three minutes to get to class. There wasn't very many kids at first but as time counted down the more students that filled up the empty seats. Jim took one last look around the room and was relieved to see that Brandon was nowhere in sight. However, neither was Alison. Oh well, he thought. Could be worse.

As the day went on a few kids introduced themselves. This Jim did not mind. It gave him a sense as to who to talk to and who to stay away from. High school was like a battlefield; every boy and girl for themselves. At least that's what it felt like for him. When he walked to his math class, feeling the weight of his stupid text book on a subject he hated so much, he almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Alison sitting up front. He wasn't expecting to see her. He stood there awkwardly, wondering where to sit. He wanted to retreat to the back, but he also wanted to sit near Alison. He felt conflicted all of a sudden. Picking a seat should not be this damn hard, he thought to himself.

Alison was busy writing things down in her little blue notebook as Jim stared at her(of course he didn't mean to) when all of a sudden she stopped and looked up, slowly turning her head in his direction, as if she felt him staring at her. The second their eyes met Jim looked away and forced himself to move. He regretfully took the furthest seat again and buried his face in his hands as soon as he sat down, feeling like an idiot.  
As a few more kids piled into the classroom Jim paid no mind to them and kept his head down. With all the moving around he hadn't noticed one particular person making their way towards them.  
"Hey,"  
Jim remained silent, not wanting to look up.  
"Hey," a finger poked him and this time he looked up. "You look like your sick to you're stomach, or something." It was Alison.  
"Uh, no, I'm fine." He told her feeling nervous now. Oh man, she actually touched me, he thought.  
"Good. We have a quiz today, but I don't think the teacher will make you take it since you haven't been here for long." She reassured him. "If you ever need help just let me know. I do tutoring for math once in a while." The final bell for class to start rang and the teacher made his appearance. Alison walked back to her seat and class began.  
Just as Alison had said, Jim did not have to take the quiz. Instead, the teacher instructed him to look over the section in his text book during that time. A lot of it was gibberish, but that was to be expected seeing how he hadn't properly gone over these problems.

When the bell rang again(Jim really started to hate the sound) he gathered up his things and headed to physical fitness. There in the locker surrounded by other boys he took off his regular clothes and put on some sport shorts and a grey T-shirt. As he pulled out his tattered sneakers from his gym back to put them on someone laughed.  
"Those are the shittest shoes I've ever seen."  
Jim looked up and saw Brandon standing a few feet from him. He, of course, was dressed in name-brand athletic wear and his sneakers shines indicating that they were brand new.  
Everyone else kept to themselves as Brandon made his comment. Jim felt as though a ten pound rock had just landed in the pit of his stomach. Jesus Christ, just go away, he thought.  
The activity of the day was basketball. It was a sport Jim was fairly good at and he thought that once out on the floor things would get better; he could move around and keep his distance away from Brandon. However, that wasn't the case. Brandon was purposely trying to get in his way whenever he could. Jim tried to not let it bother him. He just wanted to make a score for his team, make some kind of effort to make his presence known to his tea mates; in his own way he was trying to make friends. But Brandon persisted and tripped Jim. He dropped the ball and landed on the floor, his hands burning as they skid across the recently cleaned gym floor. His knees were not saved from their accident either. It was worse than getting a rug burn.  
"Sorry about that, man." Brandon stepped in front of Jim and offered him his hand. "I can't control my feet at times." He grinned.  
Jim rolled his eyes and picked himself up without the help of Brandon.  
The game went on; no one ever called a foul because as though the teacher didn't care. As long as there were no fists flying nobody said anything.

At the end of the period the boys headed back to wash up. Jim was sweating more than he would have liked and even though he didn't much like the thought of showering with these boys he had to. If he didn't want to smell for the rest of the day he would have to bare it. Thankfully the showers had curtains so Jim was saved from the embarrassment of Brandon, or anyone else making fun of his image. There was nothing wrong with the way his body looked, but Jim knew how some of the minds of kids worked and just how big of assholes they could really be.  
As he showered he unwillingly listened to current conversation going on among some of the boys in the shower room' one of them was Brandon. They were talking about some of the girls in their school and some of them were easy and which ones were still virgins. Alison's name came up on the list of virgins. Jim didn't want to listen anymore but they talked so damn loud that it was hard not to.  
"I bet Alison is a screamer." Brandon laughed.  
"Is she Chinese or Japanese? I know her dad is white, but what is her mom?" There was a pause. "Does she even have a mom? I've only ever seen her with her dad."  
Brandon opened his mouth again and said, "I heard from my dad that her mom was from Taiwan."  
"Was," said another boy in question. "So she's dead?"  
"Its a shame that its not her dad that's dead. That dude is scary. No wonder he works as a policeman." Brandon said before turning off his shower. "Too bad, I guess. That just makes the game more fun." He laughed.  
Game, thought Jim. You think getting into her pants is a game?  
The rest of the boys finished up, leaving Jim the last one. He banged his fist against the shower wall and mentally kicked himself for not sticking up for Alison. After what she did for him yesterday he felt guilty. Even if he didn't know her very well, the way he saw it, it was no excuse.

When lunch finally came around Jim dug his hand into his pockets. He pulled out a dollar and some change. It was the money he had left over from yesterday. Shit, he thought. He forgot to ask his mom for money. There wasn't much he could do about it now and picked out a small of bag chips and chocolate milk. He took his malnutrition of a lunch and tried finding a place to sit down. He spotted Alison a few tables down. She was with some girl friends of hers. While her friends ate the school lunch she had packed her own.  
Since sitting next to her was out of the question he found some place else. While he ate his lunch someone pulled on his hair.  
"Hey, rat tail." It was Brandon...naturally.  
"Don't touch my fucking hair." Jim warned him  
"Oooh," Brandon grinned. "Hey, listen, about what you heard in the shower room, don't tell anyone."  
Jim didn't say anything.  
"I know you were in there listening to us and if I find out that you told someone-."  
"You'll beat the shit out of me?" Jim looked at him now, irritated.  
Brandon smiled. "Smart guy. I like you."  
Jim scoffed and looked down at his chips to take another bite.  
Brandon patted him on the back. "See you around, buddy."

Study hall was next and Jim sighed, happy to be away from the forever suffocating aroma Brandon gave off. His ego was even worse.  
With his stomach yelling at him from still being hungry, Jim flung his book bag on his desk and rested his head on it. He was so tired from the day already that he did even notice the bell ringing. He heard someone take a seat next to him but he ignored this. He could hear more kids piling into the room. They all say in their little groups and talked. So much for study hall, but what Jim care?  
"Are you sure you're not sick?"  
Jim picked his head and saw Alison sitting next to him. "What?"  
"I said, are you sure you're not sick?"  
Jim decided to respond with a smart remark. "Yeah, I'm sick of this school."  
Alison laughed. "Already?"  
Jim eased up a bit. He made her laugh and that made him feel good. "And you aren't?" he asked her.  
Alison sighed. "I'm sick of school in general." She pulled her ponytail out and grabbed a brush from her shoulder bag.  
Jim watched as she brushed her hair, mesmerized by how long and shiny it was. He then remembered what the boys in the shower room said about her and the faintest smile that he did wear was gone now. "I didn't think you would hate school." Jim admitted.  
Alison put her brush back in her bag and said, "I think the majority of the population doesn't like school. Just because I'm good at it doesn't mean I enjoy it. The better I do the sooner I can get out of here."  
"You want to graduate early?" Somehow Jim wasn't surprised by this.  
Alison nodded. "Yeah,"  
Jim wanted to ask her why she chose to talk with him and not with someone else. Was it because he was new? He didn't have the guts to ask her, plus he felt like that would be rude.  
They talked about how their day was going and the remaining classes they had next. Even though Jim wasn't a fan of small talk it gave him the opportunity to get to know Alison better. Her favorite colors were sky blue and pink; she preferred both chocolate and vanilla; fall was her favorite season and the New Year was her favorite time of the year along with Halloween. It suddenly occurred to Jim that they were playing twenty questions. Did he bring it up by accident, or did she?  
"What's your favorite number?" she asked him, trying to think of another question, however silly it might of been.  
Jim thought, and he thought, and then he grabbed for some note book paper and wrote down a ten digit number. He slid the piece of paper on her desk.  
"That's a big number." She said and then added, "I don't have a favorite number, but if I had to chose it would be zero. I know its not a number, but the more you add behind a number the bigger it gets. Its the ultimate place-holder."  
Jim laughed a bit at this. That wasn't an answer he was expecting and he was mildly impressed.

At the end of the day when school finally ended he got a text from his mom explaining that she was stuck at work till closing. This was normal for Jim. His mom often worked long hours to try and make ends meet. But if she wasn't picking him up then that meant he would have to take the bus. He sprinted out the hall and out the front doors, trying to make it in time, but just as he reached the bottom of the steps and bus took off without him. He shouted for it to stop but it never did. Jim was forced to walk home.  
When he managed to make it home after a thirty minute walk Jim received another text from his mom.  
"Pizza rolls and hot pockets are in the freezer if you get hungry. I'll try to bring something home from work." Jim's mom worked at a diner and would sometimes bring him home a burger and fries, or his favorite: a steak.  
As he entered his house there were still boxes left unopened. He and his mom and been living here for a week now and still had so much to go through.  
He wasted no time and popped some pizza rolls in the microwave. He didn't feel like waiting ten minutes for the oven to cook his food. It was faster with the microwave. Even though it didn't taste nearly as good or have that perfect crunch to it, Jim was too hungry to care.  
When his food finished he plopped himself down and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels while he ate his food, burning his mouth in the process. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Thinking it was his mom again he picked it up and saw that it was from a number he didn't recognize. It read: Hi.  
Jim ignored it and went back to flipping through the channels. Moments later his phone went off again and it was from the same number, only this time the message was more intriguing. The message read: Pretty clever what you did during study hall; giving me your actual phone number as your favorite number "LOL".  
"Holy shit!" He said out loud. He wasn't expecting Alison to do anything when he handed her the piece of paper. He wanted to respond right away but he was having difficulty with a response. When he thought of something to say he deleted his text half way through, knowing he could do better.  
Alison sent another text. "This is Jim Hawkins, right?"  
Jim's heart was racing. If he waited too long to respond he thought it might make him look like an asshole. "Yeah, it's me. By the way, that IS my favorite number." How stupid, he thought. He sent the text anyway and almost immediately she responded.  
"Okay good. And yeah, I'm sure it is." She said, ending her sentence with a laughing emoji.

Their texting game of twenty questions lasted for a while until it suddenly stopped. Jim was the last to send a text, but she never responded. He waited and waited but he didn't hear from her for the rest of the night. He didn't think he said anything wrong and guessed that she was probably busy with something. Jim tried to not let it bother him. He was sure it was nothing to worry about.


	3. Guilty Pleasures

It was the first weekend since Jim started school. He and his mom were at the store picking up food. Sarah had tore the grocery list in half and she and Jim split up to get their shopping done faster.  
While making his way through the store, trying to find what he needed, he stopped. Alison was standing about two-hundred feet from him trying to grab a stuffed cat from a slot machine. She had no such luck and huffed as the toy cat slipped away from the claws grasp. When she turned around she hadn't noticed him quite yet, but when she did she almost seemed startled, taken off guard.  
Jim smiled and waved at her. He was going to go say hi to her but the subtle shake of her head warned him to stay away; the expression on her face was emotionless. It was then that Jim saw a middle-aged man walk up to her and place one arm around her, talking to her. The man was tall, his blond hair turning grey, his beard neatly shaved and his body language told others around him not to mess with him. Was this Alison's father? If so, it was no wonder that the boys at school made the comments they did about him.  
"Jim, did you get everything?" Sarah asked coming up to her son.  
Jim looked down at the basket he was holding and scanned it. "Yeah."  
"Let's get going then." She said.

That night after supper Alison was in her bedroom getting ready for bed when he father knocked on her door. He didn't wait for her to respond, he just walked right in with or without her consent.  
Alison's room was decorated with light pink wallpaper(she hadn't changed it since she was little. By now she had gotten used to seeing it everyday). Cute animal figures and picture frames sat on her dresser and a mirror hung on the wall above it. The bookshelf in her room was over stocked but the mess didn't bother her.  
"Have you finished your homework?" Her father, Clayton, asked.  
Alison nodded. "Yes, before supper I did." She clutched her blanket as she continued to sit on her bed.  
Clayton walked up to her and grabbed some of her hair, twisting it around his finger. "Good," he cupped one side of her face with his hand and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You're my good girl, you know that, right?"  
Alison nodded. "Yes,"  
"Good night, Sweetie."  
"Good night, dad."  
As soon as he closed the door behind him Alison took that breath she had been holding in. Her whole body shook as she clutched her blanket even more, crying silently now.  
A small buzz sounded next to her as she felt the vibration coming from her phone. He wiped at her tears in order to see clearly. She had received a new text from her friend 'Gene', but Gene wasn't actually Gene. Alison didn't have many male contacts in her phone, and those she did were her father's friends or family members. This Gene friend was actually Jim. If her father found out that she had a guys number in her phone that he didn't know about she knew what the consequences would be.  
She felt bad for shooing him away, but it was for his own good. More than anything Alison wanted to be his friend, to talk to him, make jokes with him, but she had to protect him from her father first and foremost. Alison had few guy friends but none of them she ever hung out with, only talked to once in a while during school. Jim was different though; she could tell. She hadn't known him for very long but she admitted to herself that she liked him...a lot.  
After a moment of composing herself she finally read the text.  
"What are you up to?" It was from Jim.  
Alison smiled, the tears fading away now. "I'm good." She lied.  
"Will you help me with math tomorrow during study hall?" he asked.  
"Of course." She responded.  
Alison stayed up later than she anticipated, but it was alright because she was talking to Jim. She eventually fell asleep looking at his last text. He had sent her a picture of himself making a funny face. She contemplated on the thought of keeping the photo, but if her dad saw(which he had tendency to go through her phone) then it would mean trouble for the both of them. She didn't want to delete the photo, it made her happy. At that moment that silly photo he sent was her pride and joy, but it was also dangerous. She reluctantly deleted the photo from the conversation and fell asleep.

The next day during study hall Jim sat beside Alison working on a problem that seemed to have had him stumped for the last ten minutes.  
"I just don't get it." Said Jim. "Math is stupid." He grumbled.  
Alison raised a brow. "Math isn't stupid, you just don't understand it yet. When you do it will be fun figuring out the problem."  
"Only crazy people say that." Jim leaned back in his chair.  
Alison tried not to grin but she failed. "Are you saying I'm crazy?"  
"What?" Jim said over exaggerating a bit for the sake of being funny. "Never!"  
"Shh!" The teacher shushed them. "This is study hall, not lunch." She told them.  
Jim and Alison quieted down, behaving themselves now and went back to working on math. But they couldn't help but quietly snicker back and forth. After a bit they stopped and got serious about finishing the assignment.  
From time to time Alison would bump up against his shoulder, explaining the different set of problems and how to solve them. Her skin was warm and soft, plus every now and then he got a whiff of her hair and at times he could feel her breath. This excited him, but of course he controlled himself.  
Jim cursed the bell as it rang. He wanted to spend more time with her, but he didn't want to be late for his next class he had to move.

That evening Jim's mom was working late again and he was home alone. He was just finishing up some homework in his room when he received a text from Alison. He saw that a picture was attached to the text and he excitedly opened the conversation. It was a picture of Alison making a funny face. Her cheeks were puffed and her eyes crossed; Jim smiled and responded by saying, "Haha! Thanks for the help in study hall!"  
Alison sent another picture but this time she was smiling. Jim held his finger down on the photo and saved it to his phone. She's so pretty, thought Jim. No, she's beautiful.  
A tingling feeling settled in his stomach and he started to feel roused. He sat back on his bed unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. He slipped his hand down to his member and started giving himself gentle strokes all whilst looking at the smiling picture of Alison. He tried to remember the touch of her skin and smell of her hair; all of it made him even harder.  
A minute later he moaned, reaching his climax and cam. His cum fell on his shirt while the last of it dripped out from the top of his penis and slid down his member. His body shivered with pleasure. And now the guilt was settling in. Why did he do it? I couldn't help it, is what he told himself. And now he would have to face her tomorrow with the thought in the back of his mind that he masturbated to one of her pictures.  
After another minute Jim cleaned himself up and threw his dirty clothes in the wash. It was at that moment he heard the front door open, letting him know that his mom was home.  
When he met her in kitchen he saw that she had brought home left-overs.  
"Are you hungry?" She asked him.  
Jim nodded. "Yeah." He reached for the take-out box and opened it up. Inside were two cheese burgers.  
"My boss said I could take the food home since the people who ordered it ended up changing their minds at the last minute. He didn't want the food to go to waste so he gave it to me."  
"Cool," Jim picked up on burger and handed the second one to her. "Here," he said. "I don't need to eat two of them."  
They found their way to the living room and turned on the television where they enjoyed the rest of their evening.


	4. Home Sweet Home

The next week during lunch the main dish was a cheese burger and having been eating left-overs for the last couple of days that were either cheese burgers or pizza, Jim didn't much feel like eating his. He leaned his head on his hand and stared at his food. For some reason he just wasn't hungry.  
A few guy friends came to join him shortly after. They already had a conversation going before they even sat down. Jim had made friends with them over a project they had done together. Well, they were more like acquaintances. Either way Jim was glad to have more people to talk to.  
Occasionally Jim would say something to keep the conversation going, but he was having a hard time paying attention to much of anything. He looked up from his tray and saw Alison taking a seat with her friends. Even though she was facing him she was still a few tables down and didn't notice him staring at her. Today she had gotten lunch at school rather than bringing her own. This was the first time he had ever seen her not bring her own food.  
As she took her first bite some mayonnaise oozed out from the back. When she set her burger down a bit of ketchup and mayonnaise clung to the side of her mouth and she wiped it away.  
Jim forced himself to look away, remembering how he masturbated to her picture; the dripping mayonnaise reminded him of it. I'm never eating mayonnaise again, he thought. He had carried on his conversations with as usual without really thinking about it, but today he was thinking about it a lot. And to make things worse for him he had a math test tomorrow, which meant he would have to ask for her help again during study hall. He wasn't sure if he could take another minute of her so close to him without freaking out.

When the bell for lunch to be over rang he dumped his tray and headed to study hall. He had arrived before Alison and sat in his usual spot. He pulled out his math text and note book and began looking over his notes.  
A few minutes passed and the bell rang yet again and the old familiar sound of Alison's footsteps drew near. She set her bag on the back of her chair and took a seat. "Big math test tomorrow." She said. "Studying?"  
Jim looked up and nodded. "Yeah,"  
Alison scooted closer. "Do you need my help?"  
A million answers to her questions shot through his head. It was obvious that he needed her help, but at the same time he felt so guilty. "Yeah, if you don't mind." He finally said.  
Alison pulled out her notes and pulled his text book closer to her so they could share. She quickly went over some of his work and then said, "Ah, see here? This is your first mistake." She pointed at the paper.  
Jim could smell her fruity perfume already. "Oh, yeah, that one. I'm having a hard time figuring it out."  
Alison smiled. "Don't worry, I can help you." She was simply too nice for her own good.

Near the end of the period Jim was still having difficulty understanding.  
"Tell you what," Said Alison. "Why don't we study at your house after school today?"  
Jim's eyes went wide, a lump in his throat. He swallowed it down and then said, "What about your dad? Doesn't he usually pick you up right away? He always seems to be in a hurry."  
Alison had an answer for him. "I made plans with my friend Tiffany after school, my dad knows this already. And besides, I can just reschedule with my friend."  
"You're not going to tell your dad?" Jim was a little concerned.  
Alison a waved a dismissive hand. "Its fine. So how about it? We can walk home together."  
"Wouldn't you rather take the bus? Its a thirty minute walk from here."  
Alison shook her head. She seemed adamant about walking. "Its fine. Walking is healthy for you anyway." She smiled.  
Oh no, thought Jim. That smile will be the death of me.

After school Jim met with Alison by the front doors and together they made their way off the property. From the corner of his eye Jim saw Brandon and his group of friends hanging out on the sidewalk not far from the front yard of the school. Just keep walking, Jim said to himself. Maybe they will leave you alone. Jim held his breath as he and Alison walked past them. He was about to thank his lucky stars but unfortunately Brandon called out to him.  
"Hey, rat tail!" He yelled. "Are you going to get lucky tonight? Let me know how she tastes and feels." He laughed.  
Jim scoffed and clenched his fists. He wanted to say something back and he was going to, but Alison grabbed his arm.  
"Don't," she whispered. "Just don't. He says stupid things like that all the time. Don't let him get to you."

When they reached his home Jim unlocked the door and let Alison in first. There were still a few boxes laying around but for the most part everything was set up and the house looked cozy.  
"Do you want something to drink before we get started?" Jim offered.  
Alison nodded, setting her things down on the couch. "I'll have some water. That walk made me a bit parched."  
Jim was quick about getting her some water. "Here you go."  
"Thanks,"  
Jim stuffed his hands in his pockets, thinking. "We can study in here and use the coffee table." He suggested.  
"Works for me." She said.

An hour passed and they had nearly completed their homework when Alison suddenly asked, "Where are your parents?"  
Jim had just finished up his last problem and said to her, "My mom usually works really late."  
"Where does she work?" Alison asked, putting her things away now.  
"The diner,"  
Alison smiled. "Oh, you mean the fifties grill? I love that place. I was there just last week. I wonder if I saw her?"  
Jim smiled back. "Maybe. She works all the time, that's why I usually always have the house to myself."  
"I see," she paused for a moment. "What about your dad?"  
Jim was afraid of her asking this question. He reluctantly told her, "My dad isn't in the picture anymore. He walked out on us a while back. Since then its always just been my mom and me."  
Alison was sorry to hear this. "Oh, Jim. I'm sorry that happened to you."  
Jim shrugged it off with a smirk and leaned back on the foot of the couch. "Hey, its no problem. We get along just fine without him." Suddenly he heard a gurgling sound and glanced over at Alison. "Was that your stomach?"  
Alison looked embarrassed now. "Yeah...oops."  
Jim started standing up. "I can make you something to eat." He offered.  
"You can cook?" Alison was surprised.  
Jim laughed. "No, not really, but I can put a pizza in the oven. We have cheese and pepperoni. Which do you prefer?"  
Alison positioned herself on the floor more comfortably. "You pick."

Pepperoni was the final choice for the night and they cut the pizza in half to share.  
"I've heard at school that your dad is a policeman. That's pretty cool." Said Jim trying to start a conversation.  
Alison nodded. "Yeah. He's been one for almost twenty years now."  
Jim whistled. "Damn. That's a long time."  
Alison laughed.  
Jim grinned; he liked the sound of her laugh. "What about your mom?" Jim felt like he was walking on dangerous ground with that question. He had heard rumors about her mom having died, but he wasn't sure he could trust them.  
Alison licked the sauce off her fingers before answering him. "She passed away ten years ago."  
The rumors were true. "I'm sorry."  
Alison picked up the last slice of her half but set it back down. "Its okay. I don't really remember her."  
"That's not something that's okay." He told her. "I mean, not being able to remember her, that is."  
For a second she looked sad but when she looked up at Jim she gave him the faintest smile and said, "You're so sweet, Jim. Thank you. You're not like the other guys at school."  
Jim blushed and he stuttered with his words. "I-I-I mean...thanks." He chuckled nervously.  
Alison looked at the time on her phone and cursed under her breath. "Shoot. I better go." She stood up and started gathering up her things.  
Jim got up alongside her and said, "I can give you my address so you can tell your dad where I live and he can come get you."  
"No!" Alison said quickly. She cleared her throat. "I mean, he's too busy today. He's still at the station. I'll take the public bus home."  
Jim was slightly taken aback by this. "Are you sure?"  
Alison nodded. "Positive."  
"Okay," said Jim. "Let me walk you to the bus stop then. It's getting late."  
Alison smiled. "I would really like that."

The sky was darkening and the edge of the earth looked like it was on fire from the orange and red colors the sun gave off. They didn't have to wait very long before the next bus arrived.  
When the door opened and Alison took her first step to get on she stopped.  
Jim wondered what she was doing. Maybe she had forgotten something?  
And then she turned around and gave him a hug. "Thanks for the pizza, Jim. It was really good. Let's make plans to study again after school."  
Jim blushed; his heart was racing. "Okay, yeah, sure." He hugged her back, silently enjoying the feel of her back. Even her hair was brushing up against his hands. So soft, he thought.  
The moment was over all too soon and Alison got on the bus. She picked a seat near the window and waved him goodbye.

When Alison arrived home that evening the television could be heard down the hall and heavy footsteps were fast approaching.  
"You're late?" Her dad said.  
"I'm sorry, dad. Tiffany and I were having a really hard time. This test coming up is going to be tough." She tried explaining to him.  
Clayton back handed his daughter. "No excuses." He hardly raised his voice a her, but the tone in his voice was what was scary. "I expect you to be home at a certain time, not when you think you should be home.  
Alison said nothing, only held her stinging cheek. He did this a lot, but every time he did it it left her in shock.  
Finally he cupped one side of her face with his hand and examined her. "You've gained some weight." He sighed. "You've been eating the schools lunch again. Stop it. They're not healthy for you."  
Alison answered him in a soft whisper, trying to hold back her tears. "I'm sorry, dad."  
Clayton crossed his arms, completely disappointed in her. "Wash up and head to bed. You don't get any supper tonight." And he walked away from her.

Alison dropped her book bag on her bedroom floor next to the door and grabbed some clean pajamas. When she made her way to the bathroom she turned the shower on. She felt so sick to her stomach, and shameful. Why did he have to make her feel this way? Alison lifted the toilet lid and stuck her finger down her throat. It only took her a few seconds to purge all the pizza she had eaten. She rested her hands on the seat, body shaking and tears falling. Throwing up wasn't something she wanted to do, but she felt like she had to. I'm sorry I wasted your pizza, Jim, she thought. Finally she stripped from her clothes and got in the shower. She let the water run down her still shaking body and sobbed.


	5. Fear

Another week had come and gone and the weather was finally cooling down. As Jim walked he was glad to have his oversized jacket. It helped block out the wind and kept him warm enough as he made his way to the library. It was a place he was quickly growing fond of. He didn't have money to go see a movie or buy things at the mall or anything else...not really anyway. The library was free and there was plenty of comic books and manga to read.  
He made his way up the stairs and down the short hall and into a room where there computers. Jim walked passed those and towards the shelves with what seemed like an endless supply of comics. He scanned the shelves high and low as he went down the list of comics he had read so far, checking to see if the next volume was in. Suddenly stopped as he noticed someone familiar sitting at a small round table from the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Alison sitting with her back to him. She was scribbling away on a drawing pad with books sprawled out in front of her. Jim inched closer to her, creeping over he shoulder to see what she was drawing and before he could get a good look she stopped, noticing him watching her and she closed the drawing pad quickly.  
"Jim?!" She was pleasantly surprised. "W-why are you watching me?" Her face flushed.  
Jim's face turned red. There was no point hiding it because it was too late. "I didn't mean to, honestly. I'm just as surprised to see you here."  
There was an awkward silence between them before Alison finally asked him to sit down with her. "I try to come here as often as I can." She told him.  
"I come here all the time." Jim said.  
Alison laughed a little. "You sound so proud of yourself."  
Jim shrugged. "Well, when you have no money you have to get creative."  
Alison chuckled softly.  
"So, uh, what are you drawing?" Jim tried to slid the drawing pad over but Alison was quick to stop him. "Ah, come on."  
Alison stared at him, not sure if she should show him. "You promise not to laugh?"  
Jim nodded, not wanting to miss his opportunity.  
Alison slowly opened up to the first page and slid the pad over to him. "They're terrible, I know."  
Jim scanned each page carefully, enjoying every single drawing Alison was procured by her own hand. "Alison these are amazing; not bad at all."  
Alison raised brow. "You lie."  
"Honest to God!" Jim told her.  
Alison gave him half a smile and took her drawing pad back. "God doesn't exist." She mumbled.  
"Huh?" Jim leaned in but Alison wouldn't repeat herself.  
Her mood bounced back to a smile and she said: "Do you want to know a secret?"  
Jim was intrigued. Of course he wanted to know! "Um, yeah!"  
Alison moved a few books to the side and picked up one that was laying on the bottom. "Look," she held it up for Jim to see. "I've been learning to read palms."  
Jim took the book and flipped through the pages. "Does any of it make sense to you?" Alison gave him a nod that made it look as though she was unsure of herself. "Have you tried reading any palms?" he asked.  
"No," Alison said softly and shook her head.  
"Not even on yourself?"  
Alison shook her head again. "reading your own palm can bring bad luck. I have too much of that already."  
This time Jim rolled up a sleeve and held out his hand with his palm facing up. "Read mine then. I'll be your genuine pig."  
"Are you sure? What if I tell you something you don't like?"  
Jim only moved his hand closer to her. "Go ahead!"

Alison took Jim's hand into her own and began scanning the lines carefully with the tip of her finger. It tickled a little but Jim dared not move and he continued to sit there as still as he could, afraid that if he moved even the slightest that it would mess Alison up. As she read his palm he got to wondering what she meant by having bad luck. Was she talking about the boys at school the rumors they spread? Did a girl say something to her? Or was she being bullied while no one was looking?  
He could smell Alison's perfume and breathed it in slowly, trying not to make himself seem obvious. It was a fruity smell. He was also enjoying the feel of her soft hands on his rough, callused ones, and he wondered what it was like to be a girl as pretty and soft and kind as her.  
Finally, Alison let him go.  
"Well," said Jim. "Am I going to live a long life?"  
Alison nodded. "Yeah, and you'll get married someday too, although I'm not sure when. Oh! And you'll have kids. I definitely saw two lines for that one."  
I hope that girl I marry is you, Jim thought. His mind started racing then: Alison said he would have kids someday, and if his wish came true and he married her then he would...that meant...they would eventually...  
Jim gulped, pretending that something was stuck in his throat. We'd get to have sex, Jim finished that last thought with some guilt sitting in the back of his mind.  
"Cool," said Jim. "I guess I won't die a virgin after all." He laughed but Alison hid her blushing face.  
"Jim! Don't say that so loud."  
It wasn't like he yelled it or raised his voice a few octaves higher; it was because when something "forbidden" was said it always stuck out like a soar thumb—seemed louder than what it really was.  
"So how did you do it?" Jim asked her. "Show me how." Alison was more than happy to comply and taught him what the basic lines meant. It was easy enough to remember. "Can I read your hand then...I mean, since you won't read your own."  
Alison thought about it for a while and then got ready to roll up her sleeve but then thought otherwise. "Here," she shoved her hand forward. "Go ahead." The truth was: Alison didn't want Jim seeing the bruises on her arm that were left there by her father. If he did she would have explain to him why, and she was bad at lying. Staying quiet was the only thing she felt she was decent at. She stared at him intently as he read her palm, liking the feel of his strong hands.

It didn't take Jim very long to be done.  
"Well? What's the damage?" she asked him.  
Jim thought for a while, letting the news of her future hang in the air for a while longer, making the anticipation greater. "You live a long life, marry and have some kids—I think."  
Alison raised a brow. "You think?"  
Jim raised his hands in defense. "I'm not the expert here, you are." They laughed.  
It was at that moment Alison's phone started ringing; the ringtone was the sound of bubbles popping. The sudden sound did nothing to Jim but it spooked Alison and she reached to check her phone.  
"My dad is here." She seemed upset but Jim didn't want to ask why. He knew it was none of his business and kept his mouth shut. "I have to go now. See you in school on Monday. Bye, Jim." She hurried to pack her things and quickly left.  
"Yeah, Bye." He slumped back in his chair, missing her presence already. He could still smell her fruity perfume and closed his eyes to imagine her still being with him. When he opened his eyes noticed she had left behind her drawing pin and picked it up. He hurried after her, catching her right before getting into her dad's truck. "Hey, Alison, you forgot this." He handed her back her pin.  
The bigger shocked expression was on her face then when he had first spooked her. It looked as though she had been caught doing something bad—or in this case Jim had done something he shouldn't have. "Oh...thanks." She said.  
"See ya." Jim said.  
"Bye." And no more was said. He got into the truck and closed the door.  
Why did he feel like he had just done the most terrible thing in the world. A sinking feeling was quick to lay waste in the bottom of his stomach as he tried to think of what it was he had done wrong. Perhaps it wasn't what he did, but rather what he did not do.

At the same time Alison sat straight and still in her seat as he father drove away from the library. It was dead quiet between them for a long while.  
"Who was that boy?" Her father asked.  
"A classmate."  
"No, his name. Who is he?"  
Alison swallowed hard. "Jim,"  
"Jim...?"  
"I don't remember his last name."  
Alison's father rested a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Stay away from boys." He told her sternly.  
Alison felt sick to her stomach. She wanted him to stop touching her; she wanted to get away from him; to get out of his truck and leave behind the strong smell of his cologne with it. But she was trapped; scared and alone with one of the strongest people with top authority in town, and anything said against him would only backfire and blow up in her face. She was his daughter, his own flesh and blood, and yet she was his prisoner.

Monday had arrived but as Jim walked the halls he saw no sign of Alison anywhere. She wasn't in by her locker, she wasn't in her first period class which often arrived early to; she was nowhere.  
Confused and somewhat worried Jim scratched his head. He leaned against the wall and waiting, hoping Alison would show up, but she didn't and the clock was ticking.  
"Hey, Jim," It was Brandon and he was making his way over to Jim with a confidence that made others feel uncomfortable. "Are you waiting for your lady friend?"  
Jim didn't say anything and continued to ignore the overgrown idiot. He crossed his arms and kept his head down, thinking maybe if Brandon thought he didn't hear him then he would just go away. Unfortunately not.  
"Hey, I'm talking to you." Brandon inched closer, standing a foot away now with some of his henchmen standing right behind. "Are you deaf?"  
Jim wasn't sure how much more he could take ignoring the bully. His cologne was overwhelming.  
Brandon scoffed. "If she's not in class yet she's not coming. I guess you haven't been here long enough to figure that out." He stood there waiting for Jim to say something. "Just so you know, Alison doesn't like little boys like you. She enjoys the company of real men, like me." When he finally realized that Jim was going to say nothing to him he backed off and turned his back. "Whatever. Sure was nice hearing her squeal last night." He laughed.  
Jim rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that Alison wasn't that type of person. "You're such a piece of shit, Brandon." Jim blurted out.  
This made the bully stop, turning back to face Jim and closing the gap between them. He grabbed on to Jim's shirt and held him against the wall. "Say that again, asshole."  
Jim turned his head to the side to try and free himself from Brandon's lack of having fresh breath. "Sure. I said: you're a piece of shit, Brandon. Alison isn't that kind of girl. I know this because I hang out with her. All you do is star at her from across the room."  
Brandon glared at him. "Are you saying you've already been in her pants."  
Jim scoffed. "Jesus. You think talking to any girl requires getting into their pants. Do you talk to your mom? Have you been in her pants, too?"  
Brandon was far from angry and tossed Jim to the floor. "I"m going to fucking kill your weak ass!"  
Jim didn't say anything and picked himself up off the cold tile floor. Brandon swung at Jim, punching him in the face and he fell flat on his back again.  
A teacher from across the hall saw and heard the commotion and ran to break up the fight. "Knock it off!" The male teacher intervened. "You two are coming with me to the office. We need to have a chat. The rest of you get to class. You all have one minute."

There wasn't much to say to the principle; he did most of the talking.  
Jim and Brandon were scolded and told to make up for it by coming to school for half the day that coming Saturday.  
They were soon let go and able to attend class. For the rest of the day Jim kept to himself aside from having to interact with project. All day he felt the eyes of someone staring at him and it wasn't Brandon. When Jim finally saw who it was he was surprised to see that it was one of Alison's friends. She was giving him the stink eye. What the hell did I do? Jim thought. And he was about to find out when school ended.  
Jim's mom was unable to pick him up seeing as she picked up a few more hours at work. He grumbled and zipped up his jacket and walked out the front doors of the school. He got a few blocks down when someone called his name.  
"Hey, Jim!" It was the same girl who was giving him dirty looks all day. "Hey, jerk!"  
Jim turned to face her, sighing as he wondered who he pissed off now. "Who are you? I don't remember your name."  
"It's Megan. And I have a serious problem with you." She shoved him but she wasn't strong enough to knock him over. Jim could easily take her but he didn't feel like hitting girl. "It's all your fault!" She yelled at him.  
"What did I do?" Jim was really confused.  
"You need to stay away from Alison. Got it?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.  
"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything mean to her."  
Megan rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot. You don't have to be mean to her to hurt her. Her dad is a major control freak and hates boys. I was talking to her last night. Do you wanna know what happened?" Jim stayed silent. It was chilly outside but he was overheating. "She only has a few more years until she can finally move away to college, and you're messing it up for her. She'll never get out of town if stupid boys like you keep bothering her!"  
"If her dad is abusing her you should tell someone if she can't." Megan said nothing. "Well, is he? If he is and no one says anything then I will."  
"I don't have to say any more to you. If you decide to do something stupid...AGAIN...it's your funeral." And she walked away from him.

That night Jim sat in the living room watching television. Sarah had brought home food from work: cheese burgers and fries with some soda.  
Jim stole glances at his mom, wondering if she still bore some of the bruises his dad left on her. He knew there were scars and shuddered at the thought of how his mom must feel having to see them every day. The abuse went on for a long time because his mom thought his dad could change. That day never came. They were only free when he up and left and never came back. Jim didn't know where his dad was and he was okay with that. What he wasn't okay with was Alison having to put with the same abuse. He wanted to talk to her about it but was scared to from what Megan told him.  
"Are you okay, Jim?" Sarah asked.  
Jim nodded. "Yeah, just a little cold.  
"I'll turn up the heat."  
"No, don't do that. I'll be fine." Jim didn't want his mom paying for a higher electric bill. Besides he had plenty of sweatshirts and blankets to keep warm.  
Just a few days ago Jim was laughing and talking with Alison and now he was worried if she was crying and in pain at this very moment. Whatever was wrong he would find a way to end it.

 **Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy working on other things.  
By the way...that reminds me...I'm not sure If I have told you guys yet, but I published my first book back in July. If you like my style of writing you may like my original work too.  
Since FanFiction doesn't allow links I will tell you how to get to the book. Just go to Amazon and type in: Secret of Epping Forest.  
It should be the only thing that pops up.**


	6. Me Too

**WARNING: This chapter contains content that may be considered highly inappropriate or sensitive to some viewers. Reader discretion is advised.**

It was late at night. Alison had been in bed for the last two hours. The lights were off, curtains closed and her bedroom door locked. Her father had gotten home from work not long ago and by the sound of his stumbling he was well on his way to getting drunk.  
After a long work week Alison's father would relax and unwind by drinking too much. But it wasn't his weekend and he was home early. That could only mean on thing: something bad happened at work. An inmate or perhaps an undercover drug deal had gone bad? Whenever something like that happened Alison's father was granted the opportunity to go home early and "check on her", to see if she was safe.  
With every fiber of her being, Alison hated her father; despised him; loathed him. But most of all she was scared of him; scared of the things he was capable of doing, things he had done, things he always did. The nightmare was never ending for her. But of course, who could she tell? No one. No one would believe her. To everyone else her father was an upstanding citizen to the town and kept people safe from "bad guys" when really he was a bad guy, too.

Alison could hear her father's footsteps getting closer and she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her blanket. Her heart raced as she hoped and prayed that he wouldn't come tonight. Her door was locked though, but that didn't mean anything. He had broken the bolts right out in order to get to her. Alison's father was like a monster who liked to hurt children; little girls especially.  
Her knocked on her door. "Ali," Alison held her breath. She was scared that if she breathed he would hear here and break her door down again. "Alison, open the door. I know you're awake." She said nothing and stayed as still as could be. "Alison," A few seconds passed and her father started banging on the door. "Alison! Open the door now!"  
Alison was already crying and she muffled her sobs by biting down on her blanket. Go away. She thought. Leave me be. I hate you! Somebody help me, please. I'm so scared!  
And then it happened. The door to her room swung open as she heard the cracking of wood, signaling that the bolt had been broken again.

Alison was stiff as her father grabbed her blanket and yanked it away. He struggled with her on the bed, trying to break the ball she had curled herself into.  
"Next time do as I say." He said angrily. He pulled at her hair and twisted her arm. She screamed out in pain but her father slapped his hand over mouth to silence her screams. He flipped her over on to her stomach and held her arms down behind her back. She screamed again but he only shoved her face into her pillow to silence her cries. She flailed her legs but eventually put the weight of his legs down on top of hers and with one free hand he pulled her pajama bottoms off, underwear and all.  
Alison screamed some more but she was losing breath and focused on trying to breath through the pillow.  
Let me die! Let me die! Let me die! She said this over and over inside her head. She could hear the jingling of her father's belt as he took it off; the sound of his pants unzipping and soon the worse part had arrived. Alison gasped, her throat sore from all the screaming.  
Alison's father inserted himself inside her bottom and started to thrust. It hurt a lot, but not as much as the first time he ever touched her; she was only five and she could remember the feel of every rip and tear.  
Her father was smart about it too. He never entered her vagina in fear of getting her pregnant. It was either him coming on her back, her bed, or inside her bottom.

The moment was over as she listened to her father moan as he came inside her bottom. He stumbled backward, drunk off his ass. "Go to bed." He told her and he walked out after lazily propping her door back up.  
Alison lied there for a long while before getting up to wash herself. Thankfully she had a bathroom attached to her bedroom so she didn't have to worry about seeing him in the hallway.  
She sniffed and choked on tears and she turned on the shower and brought it to a comfortable temperature and took the rest of her clothes off. The water felt nice as it washed away the grime that had been left there by her father. There was always a washcloth sitting off to the side she grabbed it to clean her bottom thoroughly. Her lavender soap would never be enough to wash away anything that was left there by that man...that monster.  
More than anything she wanted to get away; to tell someone what was going on. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and let everyone know what a terrible human being her father truly was. But alas she could not. She buried her face in her hands and cried. If she told anyone would they believe her? Would her father's treatment towards her get even worse? Would he kill her then? And if she won, if people believed her, then what? Her next to kin was in Taiwan. That's where he mother was from, and her mother's family sold her to this monster. If Alison went to live with them would they do the same to her? Would they marry her off to someone who was even worse than her father? This thought ran through her mind all the time. But what if she wasn't sent there? What if she was sent away to live with her father's side of the family? Alison was worried they would treat her the same too. Either way she would lose all her friends and then she would truly be alone.  
She felt trapped.  
What could she do? Who could she tell?  
More than anything Alison wanted to confide her feelings to someone she could trust and she had one idea of who that person could be.

When she finished her shower she quickly dried herself and put on new pajamas. She grabbed her pillow from her bed and a clean blanket and slept on her bathroom floor. There was no way she was going to sleep in her bed after what happened.  
As she tried to fall asleep lonely thoughts crept into her mind: it's my fault. I shouldn't talk to boys. Someone must be spying on me at school, or someone is telling him lies and he thinks I'm not a good girl. I am a good girl. I'm sad, too. I'm hurt and I hate myself. It really is my fault because I'm so stupid.  
The word stupid echoed in her head until she fell sleep, but was soon forgotten when she woke up to the sound of her alarm going off on her phone, but it wasn't her alarm. It was a text from Jim saying good morning.  
Through all the hell she had been through Alison managed to crack a smile. She wasn't going to go to school but she wanted to see Jim. His jokes made her feel better and seeing him and being next to him made her feel safe. She'd only known him for a few months, but she knew in her gut that Jim was different compared to the other guys at school.

Alison picked herself up off the floor and got ready for the day. After she brushed her teeth and combed her hair she looked at herself in the mirror and forced herself to smile. "You're going great." She whispered to herself. "You're pretty. You're smart" Her lips started to quiver. "You're nice. You're strong." Her eyes filled with tears. She looked away from the mirror and wiped her tears away and recollected her thoughts and emotions.  
Once she grabbed her backpack she headed downstairs to get herself some breakfast started.  
"Morning, sweet heart." Her father said.  
"Good morning, dad." She said back and put two slices of bread in the toaster.  
"You're having two slices? You don't want to get fat, do you?"  
Alison took the second slice of bread from the toaster and carefully placed it back in the sandwich bag. She didn't even bother to put butter on it as it popped out, in fear that her father would call her fat, or something along the lines of that.  
"Don't forget to make yourself a lunch."  
Alison nodded. "I know. I already have it prepared." And she did. Apples, oranges and strawberries and a bottle of water. That was her lunch. She skipped out on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich just in case her father would say something about her weight. Alison was by no means fat, but at times when she looked at herself she could hear her father's voice: "You're putting on weight."  
"We should leave soon. Being late is never good." Her father said.  
Alison nodded again. "Okay. I'll be ready soon." She was just finishing up cutting her toast in half and she stared at the butter knife. For the first time a thought occurred to her: stab him with the knife. Make bleed; make him pay for what he's done. But Alison quickly shook the thought from her head and tossed the knife into the sink. "I'm ready." She took a bite of her toast and followed her father out the door.

* * *

Jim smiled at his phone as he received a text from Alison saying good morning to him, but it had been an hour since she sent it and he was waiting for her outside on the steps in front of the school. He would glance at her texts to him from time to time and he always smiled like an idiot.  
Suddenly, the sound of truck stopping made Jim pick his head up from looking at his phone and he saw that it was Alison. As she got out of the truck he ran to meet up with her.  
"Hey, Alison." But she ignored him and quickly walked inside the school. Jim was somewhat hurt yet not surprised as he soon remembered Megan's warning about getting too close to her. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket and walked inside and headed to class before the first bell.

All day Alison ignored him, even during math class and study hall. She acted as if he was invisible and to be honest it was really starting to irritate him, but he kept his cool and tried not to think too much about it.  
Maybe she has a lot going on? Jim thought. But maybe I did something wrong? I don't know. I wish she'd talk to me.  
Even at lunch Alison was surrounded by her friends and Jim couldn't get close enough to confront her. He knew something was wrong and it was really bothering him. So much so that when Brady called him names in between classes that he brushed him off. Jim had more important things to worry about.

When school ended, Jim had managed to utter two more words to her, but again she ignored him. And whenever he tried to approach her at her locker, Megan was always there to block his way.  
Seriously! Thought Jim. What the hell did I do wrong? But unbeknownst to him, Jim didn't have the slightest clue what Alison went through. He hadn't the faintest idea that Alison was trying to protect him by not talking to him.

While on his way to the library Jim got a text from Alison saying she was sorry.  
"Did I do something wrong?" Jim texted back.  
Alison replied: "No,"  
He sighed and shoved his phone into his pants pocket.  
The library was quiet today seeing as it was in the middle of the week. He made his way to his usual spot and picked out a few comics to read and sat down on bean bag for a good hour. Soon, soft footsteps could be heard coming his way and Jim peeked his head over his book to see who it was in case he had to get out of someone's way.  
"Oh," Jim set his comic down as he Alison. She looked surprised and turned one way and then the next, acting as if she wasn't sure which way she should run. This gave Jim the perfect opportunity to advance. "Hey, wait."  
Alison stopped and stood there awkwardly. "Yeah?"  
"Are you sure you're not made at me?" She shook her head. "Then why won't you talk to me? I feel like I did something bad."  
Alison couldn't look him in the eyes so she kept her head down. "I'm sorry." She told him.  
Jim was slow to place his hand on her shoulder. "Why are you sorry? Did something happen? Are you okay?"  
Alison shook her head. "I'm hungry."  
"Then let me get you something out of the vending machine. What are you in the mood for? Chocolate? Chips?"  
Alison gave him a weak smile as she finally looked up at him. "You don't have to do that."  
Now that he was close enough to her Jim could see her red shot eyes. He didn't say anything about her crying but he had a good idea that she had been. "I'll get you some chocolate. You can take my bean bag. It's the best one." And he ran off to the vending machine.

Jim fished around in all his pockets and found a dollar-fifty. It was enough to get her a bag of chocolate chip cookies and he hurried back to her. And just as he said, Alison had taken his bean bag.  
"Comfy, isn't it?" He flopped down next to her and handed her the bag.  
Alison opened the bag and breathed in the scent before chowing down on every last chocolate chip. "Thank you." She said.  
It was quiet between the two of them before Jim decided to break the silence. "So, uh, why were you ignoring me at school. That kind hurt, ya know? I thought we were pretty good friends."  
"We are," Alison said. "and again, I'm sorry. I'm only ignoring you because..." Her sentence fell short.  
"Because...?" Jim pressed on.  
"Because I don't want you getting hurt."  
Jim was a little confused. "Why would you talking to me hurt me? Alison, talking to you makes me feel better." His heart started to race as he told her this.  
Alison looked about the room to see if anyone was nearby and thankfully no one was. "I need to tell you something." Jim stayed quiet. "My dad is very controlling."  
Jim sighed. "Yeah, your fiend Megan said the same thing."  
Alison looked surprised. "She had mentioned she spoke with you but she didn't say what about."  
Jim nodded weakly. "Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird." He paused for a second. "Alison...is your dad hurting you?"  
Alison's eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in her hands. She tried to control her crying but it was hard for her. "I'm sorry." Her voice was muffled by her hands.  
This certainly shocked Jim and he wasn't sure how to take it. He put his arm around her. "Alison, who else knows?"  
Alison shook her head. "No one. My friends just think my dad is really strict. No one knows that he hits me."  
"He hits you!? Alison, you need to tell someone." He tried getting her to look at him.  
"I've tried, but I'm scared." She leaned on him and buried her face in his chest while she sobbed quietly.  
Jim would have been happy to have Alison be this close to him if not given the circumstance they were in. Slowly, but surely, Jim put his other arm around her and held her close. "Do you want me to say something?"  
Alison shook her head quickly. "No. If my dad finds out that I'm talking to you or that I've told someone he might really hurt you, or men, or someone else that we know. I've said all I can right now. Please, don't make me say more."  
Alright. Thought Jim. At least now I know. At least now I can keep a close eye on her. "Okay," he told her. "We can just sit here. We don't have to talk about anything. But at least promise that when you'll be okay."  
"I can't promise anything." Alison told him truthfully. "I just have to keep not talking to boys or staying out late or anything else my dad considers to be bad." She took a breath; she had something important to say. "My dad is a powerful figure here in town. It'll take more than me coming out and saying something. It that day comes will you be there with me?"  
Jim held her a little bit closer. "Of course."

The two sat there for a good forty minutes before Alison's phone started to buzz. It was her father.  
"I have to go now." She said getting up dabbing her eyes.  
"Is it your dad?" Jim stood up with her.  
She nodded. "Yeah,"  
"Will you be okay?"  
She nodded again. "Just don't follow me out this time. See you at school tomorrow." She put her around him and gave him a hug before walking away.  
An unsettling feeling dropped in the pit of Jim's stomach. Would he really see her at school tomorrow? Would she be okay driving home with that man? Every part of Jim was screaming at him, telling him to run and get help, but he also wanted to keep his promise to Alison, and he did so by clenching his fists with anger; anger towards himself and anger towards her father.

 **This chapter was hard to write.  
If someone is hurting you, you NEED to tell someone. You do not have to take that abuse. Never think that you deserve to be treated like that.  
This world is scary. Please take care of yourselves out there and know that you are not alone.**


	7. Anger

**Sorry for the delay. I haven't been myself lately. Depression sucks.**

The weather was still crummy and Jim could see specks of snow. However, the ground was still too warm and every snowflake melted instantly. A few days had passed since he last spoke with Alison-that day at the library. He kept his promise to her and with each day that went by, guilt was building up inside him. He hated himself for it a little bit; he knew it was wrong to keep such a secret. These things should never be ignored. But if anything were happen to Alison, Jim would know so he would be able to tell someone then...but he hoped that it would never get that bad.

As he came up on his block to the apartment complex, he noticed an extra truck sitting outside. Jim lived here; he knew what vehicles belonged to who, and today, there was an unfamiliar truck sitting outside. He gave the license plates a good stare. The person was from Texas. It made sense now: someone was visiting...but who were they visiting? Jim didn't really care enough to know and walked up to the second floor to the apartment where he and his mom lived.  
Jim half expected to be greeted by his mom when he walked in but instead he nearly tripped over a pair of clunky work boots.  
"What the hell..." Jim said out lout to himself. He tossed his backpack on to the couch and slipped off his jacket to hang it up. Unfortunately, there was already a jacket there in his place, so he tossed his jacket on the couch next to his backpack. "The fuck...?" It was then that Jim caught a whiff of the scent coming off the jacket. He recognized that smell-that cologne. He hated it.

Without any warning on Jim's behalf, he heard a soft moan come from somewhere in the apartment. He followed the sound to his mother's bedroom and paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob. The thoughts running through Jim's head was a cluster of fucked up memories of his past. But his next choice of action was something automatic and he opened the door; he didn't want to, but he did. And there, tangled together on his mom's bed was she herself and his dead-beat dad. He had only ever walked in on them once before but he was a small child at that point in time and didn't really remember anything, or understand what they were doing. And now that he was sixteen and clearly capable to comprehend what was going on, it was too late to turn back. The damage was done.  
"Jim!" His mom gasped, trying to get her husband off of her in a desperate attempt to explain herself to her son.  
Jim didn't say anything. He didn't want to hear it; he would have none of it and stormed out of the room.  
"Jim, wait!" His mom called after him as she quickly slipped on her underwear and a shirt.

Jim was a state of fury. "Why is he here?!"  
Sarah stopped, the look of pain and anger in her son's eyes made her regret what she had done tenfold. "I'm sorry, Jim."  
When his father stepped out of the bedroom and into the main living area, Jim struggled to keep his gaze on his mom. The sight of his dad made him sick. "After all these years of no contact, why show up now? Why make an appearance?"  
"Years," Jim's dad, Leland, said in question. "Your mother and I have been talking over the phone for the last two years."  
"Shut up! I'm not talking to you!" And then his breath stopped short. "Wait...what is he talking about, mom?"  
Sarah crossed her arms, feeling even more uncomfortable now. "The reason we moved here was to be closer to your father. I've been talking to him in secret because I knew you would be upset."  
Jim tossed his arms into the air. "Then why do it in the first place? If you knew it would hurt me, why do it?" He jabbed a finger in his dad's direction. "That fucking asshole left us, and you're just going to let him back into your life? Why?!" His face was hot with anger; tears reached the corners of his eyes-they stung with hatred.  
"Its complicated." Sarah said.  
Jim grabbed a glass sitting on the end-table and threw it against the wall. It shattered and whatever remains were left in the glass were now slowly dripping down the wall. He screamed out of anger. "You don't think I have needs? I'm not three anymore, I'm sixteen! Do you not think that I want to be loved too? You're always working and all the kids at school are assholes! I have no one!" A small part of that was a lie. He had Alison, but at the same time he didn't. "God, how fucked up are you two in the head that you think its okay to do this to me? I'm your son!" Jim grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the apartment.

It didn't matter to Jim where he went, so long as he was out of that place. He walked swiftly through the neighborhood, ignoring any and all bystanders and only stopped when he came to a park. He sat down on a swing and hung his head and gently rocked himself back and forth. The metal squeaked but Jim was too wrapped up in his thoughts to even notice it.  
"Don't be sad." A small voice said to him.  
Jim looked up to see a little boy no older than maybe five standing in front of him. With his hat, gloves and puffy jacket, the boy looked like a blue marshmallow. His cheeks were red from the cold wind and that's when Jim finally noticed the loss of feeling in his fingers and nose. Jim said nothing to the boy, however, he managed to give the kid half a smile.  
"Bobby, come here! It's time to go home." The little boy's mom called out to him from across the park.  
"Bye!" The boy waved to Jim before running off to his mom.  
Jim had few memories of going to the park with his mom. She was always working to support both him and her. Was it any different thought before his dad left? He had to wonder. Had it always just been this way?

Suddenly, Jim's phone went off. He reached for it from his pants pocket and expected it to be his mom, but it was Alison instead. She was asking how he was doing and he paused for a moment to think about what he wanted to say.  
"I'm okay. And you?" He texted back.  
Alison responded almost immediately. "I'm okay, too. How are you doing with your math? Sorry I haven't been able to help you."  
"I'm passing with a C, if that matters."  
"It matters." Alison responded.  
Jim stared at his phone for a long while before texting back: "You matter to me." He continued to look at his phone wondering if what he said was appropriate at this time.  
And finally, Alison texted back. "You matter to me, too."  
The anger in him eventually subsided and he stood up from the swing. The sun was starting to set which meant the temperature was dropping.

On his way back home, Jim's phone buzzed inside his pocket. It was Alison.  
"I want to hang out again. I know its only been a few days, but I really miss you."  
"I miss you too." Jim replied.  
Alison sent a heart emoji and that was the end of their conversation seeing as Jim wasn't sure how to respond to that. Although, he liked it nonetheless.  
When he finally made it to the front of the apartment complex, Jim saw his dad unlocking the door to his truck. The two stopped and stared at each other for a few seconds before his dad decided to wave to him.  
In spite of his hands freezing, Jim took his hand out from his warm pocket, and instead of waving back, he flipped him off. He was still mad.  
Jim watched his dad get inside his truck and leave. The sight was all too familiar as he thought back to the day he ran after his dad, begging him not to leave. And now that he was in the same situation again he had little urge to go after this man he called his father. In fact, he couldn't have been happier to see him drive off.

When Jim walked back into his house the smell of hamburgers wafted through the whole apartment.  
"Are you hungry?" Sarah asked. She kept her eyes on the food, perhaps too ashamed to look at her son.  
Jim kicked off his boots and was about to hang his jacket up, but then reconsidered placing his belongings where his dad put his. Instead, he hung it over the back of the couch. "I'm not hungry." He told his mom, and retreated to his room.

Still shivering to the bone, Jim grabbed some clean clothes and a towel and locked himself inside the bathroom. The hot water from the shower did him some good. He felt the stress from school, his parents, and even his aggravation towards himself lessen their weight on his shoulders. One good thing came out of today and that was Alison. Even though he didn't get to speak with her directly or hear her voice, it was still her he was talking to. She made the bad days bearable.  
Jim grabbed his member, thinking of Alison and wondering if she was taking a shower too. He closed his yes, stroking his manhood as he let the water run down his back. But he couldn't do it; not after what he saw. No matter how hard he tried to imagine Alison naked, he couldn't get the image of his parents out of his head. He lightly banged his head against the shower wall, feeling sick to his stomach.

After his shower, Jim couldn't help but fix himself a plate of food. The burgers his mom made looked extra juicy and he could no longer go on ignoring his hunger. His depressing mood made him add extra to his burger and instead of putting a hand full of chips on his plate, he took the whole bag and escaped to his room. Usually he jumped on the opportunity to eat dinner with his mom, but right now being around her made him feel uncomfortable.  
The food was good and he finished the bag of chips while he was at it. Thankfully the bag wasn't full.  
He thought about taking his plate back to the kitchen to clean it like he normally did, but every muscle in his body wouldn't let him set foot outside his room. This was his safe haven; his sanctuary. And then, his mom knocked on the door.  
"Jim, can I come in?" Jim didn't answer her. "I think we should talk." The handle could be heard turning. "Jim?"  
Jim was quick to toss over on his bed in the opposite direction of his mom.  
"I'm sorry about today. I know what I did was wrong and unfair to you." She sat down on his bed. "Can you ever forgive me?" When she put a hand on Jim's arm he shook her away. "This silent treatment won't last. You know this." Sarah told her son. "You'll have start talking to me again eventually."  
"Go. Away." He said.  
Sarah sighed. "That's a start." She looked over at his dresser and saw the empty bag of chips and plate. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."  
"I lied. Just like you. What's the big deal? Can't handle your own medicine?"  
"Don't talk to me like that. I'm your mother." Jim was silent. Sarah leaned in and embraced her son. No matter how much Jim struggled against her, she wouldn't let go. "You're still my baby boy." She told him. "I'll always love you most and forever."  
"Please go away." Jim crouched into a ball, hiding his face in his pillow.  
Sarah put in a little more effort to try and get her son's attention, but she soon realized that that wasn't going to happen. "Okay, you win. I'll leave you alone for now." Sarah walked out of the room, leaving Jim wallow in his own misery by himself.

After some time of quiet despair, Jim reached for his phone sitting on the nightstand and opened up his text messages to Alison. Her heart emoji was still there. His thumb hovered over a particular button and after much deliberation, he sent a heart emoji back to Alison. Was it the right thing to do? He didn't know. But why the hell not? Jim thought.  
Why the hell not was right.


	8. The Good Girl

The Winter Formal Dance was less than a week away. Alison had never been interested in these dances, and even if she was it would have been very difficult to convince her dad to let her go. Not once had she ever attended a school dance, and not that she minded, it was jut...Jim. He was the reason a small part of her wanted to go now.  
Most of the kids at school were getting hyped for the occasion and even decorating the hallways for it. Streamers were hanging from the ceiling, posters were scattered all over the walls, and some of the decorations you could still smell the spray paint.  
"Let me guess," Megan hung her arm around Alison, "you don't care about this stuff?"  
Alison shrugged as she walked down the hallway to get to her locker. "It's not that I DON'T care, it's just I've never been to a dance before so I don't know what they're like, or what to expect."  
"You're missing out on high school experiences."  
Alison came to her locker and started twisting the lock. "Should I get pregnant too then?"  
"Shhh!" Megan tried to put her hand over her friend's mouth, but Alison swished her away. "Don't say that out loud. Do you want people to start spreading rumors?"  
Alison shrugged again. "I don't care. People already talk behind my back and they don't even know me."  
Megan leaned up against one of the lockers and crossed her arms. She wasn't sure what to say that. "Look," she said more quietly, "if you let me talk to your dad, I'm sure I can convince him to let you go to a dance just this once." She then spotted someone familiar heading down the hallway and stood up straight. "Oh no..."  
Alison looked over at her after putting her stuff away. "What?" But Megan didn't have to answer and Alison turned her head to where her friend was looking. It was Jim.  
"He's early." Megan commented. "Usually he gets here after the first bell. I always see him rushing to class, but today he's early."  
While Megan was going on about Jim, Alison tuned her out and watched Jim make his way past them. It was only for a second but Alison and Jim locked eyes, both thinking the same thing; both wanting to say hi. Alison then quickly turned to Megan and stopped her speech in mid-sentence. "Okay," she said. "If you can convince my dad to let me go to the Winter Formal Dance, then I will go."  
Megan beamed with delight. "Really?"  
Alison locked her locker. "Make it count!"  
And the bell for first period rang.

Going to the dance was possible. Alison had been on her dad's good side for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully all those nights of uncomfortable torment would not go unnoticed. Megan was smart though, and good with words, so it was very possible that Alison stood a chance. But if she did go, who would she go with? Megan had a date and so did many of her other friends. Most of the boys had given up asking her because she always said no...because she never went anyway. But now she had good reason to try, and Megan was right: this was a high school experience that was worth trying at least once.  
Alison thought of different ways she could approach Jim on the subject and the best time to do it was during study hall. All throughout physical fitness and lunch she thought about asking him, her heart beating fast. If Megan knew that she had plans on asking him, she would flip! So, Alison had to play it cool, attempt to do things she had never thought twice about.  
And then her moment arrived. Jim was in his usual seat studying his math. He had kept his distance just like Megan warned him. But this time it would be different.

Alison found herself a comfortable spot on the floor behind one of the rows of books. It was a cozy corner where some kids came to hide away from teachers so they could take a nap, or in some cases make-out. Once situated, Alison pulled out her phone and texted Jim to come over, explaining to him where she was hiding.  
It didn't take him long to find her once he had shoved everything into his backpack. A look of uncertainty was all over his face. He wasn't sure if meeting up with her was the right thing to do.  
"Oh good, you found me." Alison smiled.  
Jim took a spot next to her, perhaps a little too close, but Alison didn't seem to mind. "Uh, hey. What's up?"  
"Did you want help with math?"  
"You could have just texted me that. And no, I think I got most of it." He didn't sound too sure of himself but he also didn't want to be a burden to her either. "Is there another reason you called me over here?" Jim asked, worried that her dad might have hurt her again.  
Alison got straight to the point. "Do you want to go to the Winter Dance with me?"  
Jim cracked a smile, suddenly feeling shy. "Um, are you sure it's alright?"  
"Megan is going to convince my dad to let me go."  
"Soooo..." Jim said slowly. "In other words you want to go with me secretly because if your dad finds out he'll kill me?"  
"More or less. I'm sorry. I really do want to go with you." She told him honestly. "Lying is the only way."  
"And if you can't go?"  
"I'll text you the night before."  
"And that's this coming Saturday night, right?" Jim asked, wanting to make sure.  
Alison nodded. "Yep!" She smiled again.

Jim could feel his insides turning to mush. He had been wanting to talk with her for so long. It was driving him crazy. And now he was so close to her and he was able to hear her voice and see her smile up close. "Does Megan know you want to go with me?"  
"I haven't told her yet. I will though, I promise." She stopped suddenly to get a better look at Jim. "Is there something on your mind?"  
Flashbacks of his dad being in his house sent a shiver down his spine. "It's not important."  
Alison placed a hand over his. "It doesn't seem like its not. Do you mind telling me?"  
What was he to tell her? That his dad walked out on him when he was little? That just the other day he showed up out of the blue and was screwing his mom right in front of him? Those were details that were better left unsaid (and could not be unseen)...forever. But how could he not open up at least a little bit to her? After hearing about her dad and knowing how much courage it must have taken her to tell him, it made him find the strength to let her in. "I guess we both have pretty crappy dads." Jim started. "My dad left when I was really young." He said more quietly. "I haven't heard anything from him until just a few days ago."  
"Is that a good thing?" Alison asked unsure.  
Jim shrugged. "Hell, I don't know and I don't care. He's a piece of shit. I've been in a bad mood ever since."  
Alison inched a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's weird," she said, "that both our dads have managed to hurt us one way or another. Whether they're there, or not." She reached for Jim's hand and tangled her fingers with his.

It was quiet between the two for a while. A bliss of silence.  
"Alison...what are we?" Jim surprised himself as soon as he blurted out the words. He didn't mean to say them. It just happened.  
"I don't know...My comfort. My support. My friend. Vice versa."  
"If I'm your friend, then why do we have to sneak around? I mean, I know you told me your dad is a strict control freak but-"  
"There is more to it than that." Alison cut him off. "Maybe someday I'll tell you." If I live that long, she thought to herself. Alison was never really serious about doing it, but suicide was a thought that ran through her mind on a weekly basis. She even thought about what kind of letter she would leave behind. It would be placed in one of her teachers desks so her dad would never find it. She would spill out all her secrets about him touching her in inappropriate places; the bruises and cuts he left behind on her body and in her heart. She would even talk about about her mom, a subject that was more painful than the sting left from her dad's hand.  
But now there was Jim, her knight in squeaking sneakers.  
"At least you have your mom. I haven't met her, but I'm sure she's a nice lady."  
Jim held back a scoff. "Yeah, she's a hard worker." But she's stupid for letting that asshole back into her life, he cursed inside his head. He then reached over, trying not to move too much to make Alison move from his shoulder and pulled out his math book. "On second thought, I think I might need your help after all."  
Alison giggled. "The truth comes out. Sure, I can help you."

When the final bell rang, signaling that school was over, Megan walked with Alison to her dad's truck where he waited for her.  
"Hey, sir, can I ask you something?"  
Alison's dad peered over at her from across the driver seat. "Sure, sweetheart."  
Before asking, Megan went ahead and opened the door for Alison to get in. "The Winter Formal Dance is this Saturday, so I was wondering if Alison could go with me. Ya know, it could be a girl's night out sort of thing." She held the door open by leaning on it somewhat. The look on her face read that she wasn't going to leave without a positive answer.  
Alison glanced over at her dad and gave him an innocent smile. "Please?" she asked.  
Her dad looked to her and then to Megan, contemplating on whether or not he should trust two teenage girls. "I'll allow it." He finally said.  
Megan jumped into the air. "Woohoo! Thank you! See you Saturday, Alison!" She gladly shut the door and went on her way.

While on the way home, Alison's dad kept the radio off this time and stayed focused on the road. "There better be no boys involved." He warned her after a long moment of no talking. "Because you know what I'll do if that happens, right?" Alison nodded. "I want to hear you say it."  
Alison's voice was caught in her throat but some how she managed to fight through the fear. "You know how make a death look like an accident...and you'll make me help you."  
Her dad nodded. "That's right. Good girl." He reached for her thigh and gave it a squeeze. "That's my baby girl."

That night as Alison was prepping dinner, her dad was going on again about work, but she didn't care. She was busy cutting up carrots and celery for the soup they were having for supper. Bread was baking in the oven and a bowl of fresh fruit was already sitting on the table. Alison had everything she needed right here. A comfortable home, nice furniture, expensive tech equipment, plenty of food in the fridge, etc. All this was because of her dad, but if Alison had any say over it, she would throw it all away. She didn't care about the items sitting in her house that she always had to dust. She didn't care about the money, or even the nice, rich neighborhood she lived in. It was all a lie anyway. A lie to cover the person her dad really was, and she was the center piece of it all. However, her dad was the glue to hold it altogether.  
Slowly, but surely, Alison planned to pick away at it. She wanted to escape this life. The knife in her hand was one option. If she was swift enough she could end it all right here and now. But would she be fast enough? Would she be able to have the guts to slice this monster's throat? No. Right now wasn't the time, or would it ever be. No matter how evil her dad was, Alison knew better enough than to try and kill him.  
Killing myself would be easier, she thought again. She shook her head slightly, sighing. "I'm done cutting the vegetables, dad." And she slid them into the pot.

As they ate in silence, Alison thought of Jim. She tried hard to remember the feel of his rough hands clasped with hers. Sneaking around with him might have been dangerous, but it was also fun to her. Being with him in those tiny moments made the rest of her miserable life worth living. This was not all there was though, she knew this. It was only high school and she would get through it. And then, she would be able to make her own choices without the rule of her dad's thumb pressing her down.  
And then a thought-a statement-popped into her head: I don't want to be the good girl anymore.

 **If you like my writing style, you might like my original work too. I have a book published and you can find it on Amazon. It's called Secret of Epping Forest. Here is the ISBN: 9780692142875.  
And if you do not feel comfortable ordering it online, you can always go to your local Barnes and Noble and order it through them.  
** **I know I have mistakes in my fanfictions, but they are just for fun. When it comes to my Original works I try really hard to make sure everything is perfect. I have an editor to help me with that.  
Please support a starving artist!  
**


	9. A Risk Taken Is A Chance Given

Alison walked down the hall of the high school early in the morning. She was hardly able to keep her eyes open as she was kept up for most of the night. Her father, the monster under her roof, tormented her. But it was not touching that he disturbed her by, rather than his words; calling her slut and whore and many other foul names. He was drunk, of course, and yelled at her through her bedroom door for most of the night, thus her tired burning eyes.  
She stopped suddenly, a few students brushing by her and slightly irritated that she stopped so abruptly in the middle of the walkway. Her reason being was that she spotted Jim by his locker. He looked about as tired as her as he stood there looking off into space with his locker door wide open.  
Alison mustered up the courage to move her feet and put on a smile. "Good morning, Jim!"  
Jim nearly fell over his feet but steadied himself with the help of his locker. "Jeez...Morning, Alison. What's up?"  
She glanced up for a second and then looked back at him. "The ceiling."  
Jim would have laughed if he wasn't so tired, so he gave her half a smile and an exasperated sigh.  
"There's something I want to ask you." Alison started. She didn't even wait for him to say anything. "Will you go to the Winter Formal Dance with me?" _What a mouth full,_ she thought.  
Jim thought for a moment. "That's...tomorrow!"  
Alison felt unsure of herself now as she squinted her eyes with uncertainty. "So...no?"  
"Uh, no...no, I uh..." Jim scratched the back of his head. "I mean, what about your dad?" He said that last part in a quieter voice.  
"He already knows I'm going."  
Jim was surprised to hear this. "Really?"  
Alison nodded, happy to see his mood turn around. "Megan convinced him to let me go."  
 _Ah,_ Jim thought, _I understand now._ "So he thinks you're going with her?"  
Alison shrugged. "Well, if you mean by driving here with her and hanging out, yes, but..."  
"But what?" Jim finally closed his locker door. First period was fast approaching.  
"I'd like you to be there so we can hang out too." She finally confessed.  
"I don't have anything to wear." Jim felt embarrassed now. The last time he wore an ironed shirt and pants was when someone in the family passed away.  
"That's okay." She assured him.  
The bell for first period rang and Jim's answer to Alison hung in the air. He mentally fought with himself on what to say next.  
Alison bobbed up and down, waiting for him to say something...anything!  
"Sure! I'll go. It starts at seven, right?"  
Alison's smile returned. "That's right! See you tomorrow at seven then."  
Jim watched her run off to class. He was happy to see her so excited, but something in her voice seemed off as if she was trying to hide something. Knowing some of the things her father did behind closed doors, he wouldn't be surprised if she was having a rough week.  
Jim thought that if going to a stupid school dance would make the-girl-of-his-dreams feel better, then he would endure the corny songs and awkward dancing all night to make sure she enjoyed herself.

* * *

After school, Jim began his long walk home. His phone buzzed inside his coat pocket and he reached for it excitedly, hoping it was Alison, but it was his mom instead. He groaned although he wasn't all that surprised. Her text read that she would be working late...again, so he was to fend for himself in terms of dinner. He unzipped his coat halfway and reached inside where there was an extra pocket. He opened it, slipping out a few dollars bills (he had learned to keep his money there to keep bully's from taking it) and turned in the direction of the grocery store.

As the doors to the store slid open, Jim was met with a wave of warm air. It was nice to be out of the cold.  
He walked down the aisle with the prepackaged sandwiches, not feeling up to making his own, but all of them were a dollar or more out of his price range. He cursed softly to himself and kept walking, trying to find something cheaper, yet still considered a decent meal. There was little luck on his side and it seemed to have been diminishing the more aisles he went down in search for food. Suddenly, he stopped, listening in on an unpleasant conversation.  
"Talk to me like that again, and I'll beat the shit out of you in front of all your friends." The voice was unfamiliar to Jim.  
"Okay, okay!" That voice was recognizable, yet it somehow sounded different.

Jim finally turned to corner, thinking all the while he should just turn back around from where he came from, but his feet seemed to move on their own. There, standing about ten feet from him, was Brandon and someone slightly older and similar to looks to the young bully.  
The older boy smacked Brandon hard on the ear. It instantly went red. "What did I tell you?"  
"Mom and dad are going to be fucking pissed off if you do that." Brandon tried to warn him. Instead of wearing the know-it-all look, Brandon looked like sheep cornered by a wolf. And his confidant voice was now no louder than a whisper.  
"Mom and dad can take a piss all they want." The older boy said.  
Jim understood now. This was Brandon's older brother.  
"Fine, Chris, do what you want," Brandon told him.  
With that, the boy named Chris looked mighty proud of himself as he stormed off. It was at that moment, before walking away, that Brandon noticed Jim standing there. He said nothing, but the surprised look on his face said it all. His guise was now unmasked. To have been caught so easily, in a grocery store no less, left a dent in his confidence for sure.  
Jim half expected Brandon to say some kind of snotty comment, but it never happened. He just walked away. Jim guessed that even bully's could be bullied. Needless to say, that didn't leave him feeling sorry for the brute.

Once he was gone, it was then that something caught Jim's attention. The bakery stood vacant, but the sign that read "SALE" in big red letters was a beacon of hope for him. In a large basket lay dozen, if not more, tasty pastries. He figured stuffy his full unhealthy sugary goodness for one night wouldn't hurt and so he grabbed four of them, forgetting all about Brandon and his mom working late, and headed home.

* * *

With no classes to have to worry about tomorrow, Alison took it upon herself to stay up longer than usual. Her dad was working all night, that meant she had the house to herself, and she was free to do whatever she pleased without having to worry where she stepped.  
She prepared herself a plate of tortilla chips, sprinkling shredded cheese and her favorite salsa on top. A late-night snake was a treat she had been waiting to give herself for the last couple of months. She even opened a can of soda-pop and walked up to her room where she felt safest. Her snack was gone within minutes by the time her phone lit up, buzzing.  
It was Jim, and of course, a sweet smile played across her face. She spun around, walking back and forth and she texted him.  
"What are you going to wear?" He asked her.  
Alison giggled and texted back, "That's a secret!" She glanced over at the sky-blue dress hanging up in her closet.  
"Can I have a hint?" he pleaded.  
Alison gave this some thought. "I think you will really like it."  
"That's not a hint!"  
This time Alison laughed and she plopped down on her bed, soaking in the moment of talking to Jim freely. "What will you be wearing?" she then asked him.  
"The tables have turned!" he said before quickly adding, "my birthday suit!"  
Alison thought for a moment about what she would say. "That would be a sight to behold for sure." Her heart started beating faster. This new-found fire that lit inside her had her saying things she otherwise never thought about.  
"You think so?" Jim texted back.  
"I know so." She told him.

For a while there, Alison thought that perhaps she had said the wrong thing because Jim didn't respond right away as he usually did. Her thumbs hovered over the buttons, ready to say something, when suddenly, Jim sent his reply.  
"Thanks, because usually I feel like a fat piece of shit."  
"You're not a fat piece of shit. I am. I just ate nachos and drank liquid sugar at 11pm."  
"You're not a fat piece of shit. You're pretty." Jim told her.  
Alison stared at that last text, her mind going crazy. She put a hand on her side, feeling her aching rib cage where her dad hit her. It was bruised, and it didn't help that the black and blue mark had been there for a week now. She had bruises like this all over her body.  
 _Pretty girls don't have bruises,_ thought Alison.  
But the most bruised parts of Alison were her heart and mind. Tainted by her dad at a very tender age, she would forever hold those ugly memories...even carry them unto her death. It was a fight she would never win. But Jim soothed those bruises like no one else could. He was different. He was _Jim._

Finally, Alison texted back. "Thank you."  
"And you're a good person." He added on with his flattery.  
"Thank you. You are too."  
"No, I'm not."  
"I think you are."  
"You shouldn't."  
"Well, you shouldn't either."  
"Think that you're a good person?"  
"Yes."  
"Why?"  
Alison took a deep breath. "Can I tell you a secret?"  
"Of course."  
"Everyone thinks I'm a good girl, but I don't want to be."  
"So, you're saying you want to get into trouble? Because I can easily help with that. LOL."  
"Good. Tomorrow then. At the dance."  
"Wait. What?" Jim wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into.  
"Be there, or be square." It was the last thing she sent him before turning her phone on silent and switching the lights off.  
For once in her life, Alison was prepared to risk it all.


	10. First Time For Everything

**Sorry for the wait. Since the last chapter I have moved to a different town, started a new job and have gotten married. Lots of life changes and they are still happening. I hope you like this next chapter.**

Jim rummaged through his closet on the morning of the dance. He was making so much noise that his mother came walking in.  
"What on earth are you doing?" She gaped at pile of clothes laying on the floor and on his bed.  
Jim removed himself from his closet, almost tripping but caught his balance. "I'm going to the school's winter dance tonight." He said honestly and regretted it immediately. He didn't want his mom knowing that he was going to some stupid school dance, but he was so nervous about finding something half-way decent to wear that he blurted out the truth. Besides that, he still couldn't make direct eye-contact with his mom; he hadn't quit gotten over the fact that he walked in on his parents having sex.  
Sarah looked confused and almost amused. "You're going to a dance? Jim, you hate dances."  
He shrugged. "So? I feel like going this time. A few of my friends are, so I thought I'd go too."  
Mrs. Hawkins raised a brow at her son. "And what do you plan on wearing?"  
Jim took a good look around his room and stuffed his pants in the pockets of his sweatpants. "Jeans and T-shirt."  
Sarah leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. "Get dressed. We're going shopping."  
Jim immediately shook his head. "No, no way."  
"Oh, come on, Jim. I'll even take you out for breakfast."  
Jim slouched. He knew his mom was trying to make it up to him for the last shitty couple of days. "We don't have the money."  
His mom was quick to reply with, "I get paid tomorrow. I'll just write a check."  
Jim sighed. "Okay. Give me five minutes."

For a late breakfast, Mrs. Hawkins took her son to the diner she worked at. They were known to have hearty breakfast meals and of course the employee discount was nice. And with his mind always on a budget, Jim ordered something cheap, like the pancakes, and his mom ordered a Belgian waffle with strawberries on top.  
"So what friends are you going with to the dance? Is there a girl?" His mom asked once their food was placed in front of them.  
Jim accidentally poured himself too much syrup and cursed. "Shit! Uh, no, what, huh?" He he tried to clean up the sticky mess that poured over the side of his plate with a napkin.  
Sarah laughed. "So you are going with a girl. You should have just said so." She grinned at her son across the table. "Are you two dating?"  
Jim was mildly embarrassed and started cutting his pancakes into bite-sized squares. "No. She's just my friend."  
"But you want to be more than friends, right?"  
"You're food is going to get cold." Jim said to her with his mouth full, not caring about table manners.  
For a moment, Sarah dropped the subject and ate her food. She was glad that her son was talking to her again instead of giving her the silent treatment.

When they finished eating their breakfast, Jim and his mom walked a few blocks down the street to a near by thrift store. The store was well managed and was up-to-date with the times and fashion, but it was a place where people shopped for stranger's handy-me-downs. Undesirables that were no longer desired by the wealthy and passed down to those less fortunate, like Jim and his mom. Jim didn't care though. He preferred the feel of used clothes other than a shirt that was neatly pressed and stiff. It made his skin feel itchy.  
When they entered, a bell jingled above their heads. The middle-aged woman who sat behind the counter greeted them with a smile. Her colorful clothes and long curly hair gave Jim the impression that she was a well-to-do person, and maybe even a hippy of sorts.  
"I'll start looking." Sarah disappeared behind a row of clothes and started searching for the best possible school dance attire that she could afford.  
However, Jim wasn't much a shopper, especially when it came to fashion, which he knew nothing about. Still, he tried his best to find a pair of black dress pants that would need to be ironed and a simple, long-sleeved button-up white shirt.  
"Look at this tie I found." Sarah spooked her son as she came up behind him unannounced. "It's such a pretty blue, don't you think?"  
Jim raised a brow and a smirk played across once side of his face. "Mom...pretty? Really?"  
Sarah chuckled softly. "I think it's pretty." She eyed the pair of pants hanger over sons arm. "Those don't match."  
Jim rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? Black goes with everything."  
"Not with this tie."  
"I'm not wearing a tie."  
"Don't be ridiculous! You're going to a dance with a girl." She shoved it into his hands. "Go try those on."  
Jim groaned, finding his way down the clothes aisle and into one of the dressing rooms. He stripped from his clothes and was midway through putting on his pants when his mom tossed a black belt over the door.  
"Put that on too." She told him.  
Jim snatched it from the ground and slipped it on. He then put on the shirt and tucked it in as neatly as possible. Leaving one button undone, he straightened out his collar and put the tie around his neck lazily. When he opened the door, the excitement on Sarah's face fell when she saw the lack of effort Jim put in to putting on the tie.  
She stepped up to him and started messing with it, first starting by buttoning the last button and then securely tying the tie. "There," she said. "Much better."  
"I feel like I'm going to choke." He complained.  
Sarah playfully slapped his arm. "Oh, stop it. You look handsome."  
"Mom..."  
"Do you want to try on anything else?"  
"No, this will work."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes."  
It looked as though she wanted to do more shopping, but if Jim was satisfied with his choice, then what else could she do? It was hard enough getting a teenage boy to decide what he wanted for supper.

When they walked up to the counter the woman greeted them again and in the same manner. As the clothes were being scanned, Sarah fished around in her purse and pulled out her checkbook.  
"Oh, we don't except checks anymore." Said the woman.  
Sarah laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." She quickly scanned the woman's name-tag. "Uh, Debra." She finished with a smile. "Let me see if I have cash."  
Jim could feel Debra's judgment slowing coming down on their heads. "The total was just under twenty dollars, and a sick feeling rested in the pit of Jim's gut: they didn't have enough money.  
"It's okay, mom. I can find something at home to wear."  
Sarah waved a dismissive hand as she laid out the rest of her bills and started counting all her change. "My son is going to his first dance with a nice girl and he needs to look his best." She finished counting and slid everything over to the woman with a smile still sitting on her face.  
Jim suppressed the urge to sigh and watched as the woman counting every last cent. Once done, she started bagging Jim's clothes and handed it to Sarah, which she then handed to Jim.  
"Thank you, have a nice day." Debra said.  
"Thank you!" Sarah and Jim quickly left the shop, the cool winter air feeling nice for once.  
Neither one said anything, but the situation was somewhat embarrassing. Jim hated seeing his mom struggle financially, that's why he had to stay in school and stay out of trouble. He'd find a good job and then, just maybe his mom wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.

* * *

That night, as Jim prepared for the dance, he stared at himself in front of the mirror for a moment before his mom knocked on his bedroom door.  
"Jim, are you ready to go? I can drop you off."  
"Uh, yeah, I'm ready." He ran his fingers through his hair, the gel he had put in earlier was holding up well. "I'm coming." He called to his mom as he opened the door and rushed after her. He grabbed his over-sized jacket and went to the car.  
"I can't believe you're wearing that. Please tell me you'll take it off when you get there." Sarah started the car.  
Jim groaned. "Yeah, I will. I don't have anything else to wear over it though, and it's not like we would have had enough money for a full suit." He didn't mean for what he said to sound so harsh.  
"Well, if you go to another dance, I'll buy you one."  
The remainder of the drive was quiet, save for when they reached the school.  
"Do you have everything you need?" Sarah asked.  
Jim nodded.  
"When should I pick you up?"  
"The dance is over at eleven." He was already opening the door.  
"Okay!" Sarah called, barely getting a goodbye from Jim as he soon closed the door and hurried inside to get away from the cold.

Once inside, Jim ditched his jacket in his locker and walked to the Gym where the dance was taking place. Sitting at a table just outside the doors, was a female student wearing a sticker name-tag reading: Racheal.  
"Hi, welcome to the form Winter Dance!" She beamed with delight.  
Jim was slightly confused. "Uh, hi." He tried walking passed, but the girl stopped him.  
"Do you have a bracelet?"  
"No...?"  
"You need to purchase a bracelet first before getting in." Racheal informed him.  
"I do? Well, can I have one then?"  
She nodded. "Why yes! There's a ten dollar admission fee."  
Jim gulped. He didn't have any money. "Look," he said. "I don't have any money. My mom just left and she wont be here until eleven when the dance ends."  
Racheal slumped a little in her seat, feeling bad for Jim. "Oh, I see." Her eyes shifted from one side to the other, and then suddenly opened the metal case where the money was being kept then and slammed it shut. "Thank you for your purchase! Here's your bracelet!" She quickly handed it to him. "Enjoy!" She motioned her head toward the gym.  
"Uh, yeah, thanks!" Jim took the bracelet, appreciating what the girl had done for him and quickly slipped inside.

The music playing echoed off the walls of the gym. The giant speakers sitting next to the DJ made the floor vibrate and Jim watched as all the kids stayed huddled in their groups, dancing, drinking punch, and kissing in the corners where the teachers couldn't see them.  
"Boo!" Jim jumped and spun around quickly, his heart almost jumping out of his chest. It was Alison.  
"Jeez, don't scare me like that." He rested a hand on his chest.  
Alison laughed. "I saw you walk in and couldn't help myself." She grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's get something to drink." She pulled him over to the table where she then looked over all the flavors to choose from.  
All the while Jim stared at her pale blue dress. It fit snugly around her chest and flared out once it reached her knees. Her dress had sleeves and on them were white little beads that sparkled like diamonds. Her hair was up in a tight bun with a few loose curls forming around her face, and her makeup was light, giving her a flawlessly natural look of beauty.  
Jim gulped, suddenly feeling very thirsty.

Looking for something to drink was only a distraction for Alison to keep herself calm. They way Jim's hair was slicked back had Alison wishing he'd do that more often but had no idea how to tell him. His pants and shirt were neatly pressed and he seemed to be standing straighter than usual. She stole tiny glances at him while whilst trying to choose a drink. Her heart was pounding; this was the moment she had been waiting for!  
"I think I'll have the red fruit punch. What about you, Jim?" She asked ad she poured herself a glass.  
"Just water." Despite how cold it was outside, the temperature inside felt a little too warm.  
Alison handed him a bottle. "Here,"  
"Thanks."

They stood there in silence having their drinks and watching the other students dance. When Alison finished her red fruit punch she tossed the plastic cup in the recycling bin and turned to Jim. "Do you want to go dance?"  
Jim looked nervous now and he almost missed his mouth when he tried taking another drink of water.  
"Let's go dance."  
"With who?"  
"Just us. I mean, I can always have Megan come over."  
"Speaking of Megan, where is she?" Jim took a good look around the dance floor. He was watching out for himself since Megan had a history of always showing up unannounced.  
"She's over there." Alison pointed to a blonde wearing a dark red dress with black stripes. Megan was dancing with a completely different group of people.  
"You don't want to dance with Megan?" Jim asked. He felt kind of bad having Alison all to himself, even though this was the moment he had been waiting for.  
"Oh, come on!" Alison pulled on Jim's arm and hauled him out on to the dance floor, and he had no choice but to comply, quickly tossing his water bottle aside.

As the night went on things seemed to mix together. Whenever a slow dance would come on, Jim would awkwardly run off to the side and watch Alison be taken away by Megan and watch the two dance together, giggling. Jim had never been this involved with school activities, and he was surprised to see even the less popular kids show up and form their own group to dance. For once it looked like the kids at this school got along, but take away all the decorations and stop the music, and the magic fades.  
Jim looked back at Alison who was still dancing and giggling with Megan. The smile on her face was magic that Jim hoped never washed away. He found it difficult to swallow. She was so pretty, and he was just sitting there, letting this moment go to waste.  
 _No._ He thought. _I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her!_ And he waltz right up to the two girls and cleared his throat, although it was pointless seeing the music was louder than his attempt to grab Alison's attention. But it was okay, Alison saw him anyway and stopped dancing with Megan.  
Megan raised a brow and smirked. She knew exactly what Jim wanted, he just didn't have the guts to say it. "Go ahead." She said and stepped to the side, letting Alison dance with Jim to a slow song.

Alison's body was warm from dancing all night, and Jim's hands shook out of nervousness as he put one hand on her back and held her hand with his other. There was a small bit of sweat on her forehead and Jim guessed he probably looked similar.  
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Alison asked. She eyed him carefully, one strand of hair on his head going rogue and drooping down and into a hook above his brow.  
"Yeah. Are you having fun?"  
Alison nodded. She pursed her lips together, trying to hide her massive grin. "Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun." Suddenly, the lights in the gymnasium changed color to match the flow of music and both Jim and Alison looked up. Fake snow started fall, setting in the perfect mood for all couple on the dance floor.  
"Thank you for coming with me tonight." Alison said.  
It took a moment for Jim to respond because he was too busy trying to swallow that hard lump caught his throat. "Thank you for asking."  
"You look really handsome tonight." Alison's blushing face was hidden from the lack of light in the room, saving her from letting on too much knowledge of how she was really feeling.  
Jim spoke without thinking. "You do too."  
Alison raised a brow and smirked. "I look handsome?"  
Jim's brain spun around in his head, his stomach flipping. "N-no. What I mean is, you look really pretty."  
"Just pretty?"  
His palms started to feel clammy and he was worried Alison would notice so he mentally told himself to _calm the fuck down._ "You look beautiful." _  
_Alison wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his chest. Even wearing heels, Jim was still a head taller than her. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.  
A shiver ran down Jim's spine; the hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck stood up. "You're welcome." It was the most simplest and respectable response he could give her, so why did he feel awkward saying it?

While Jim held on to her, he scanned the dance floor. No one was watching them. They were all too busy dancing with their sweethearts. Seeing this, Jim relaxed. He had been paranoid over nothing, thinking that all eyes were on him, when in fact, it was just the opposite. Jim held Alison closer, pressing her just a little closer to him.  
"I've been wanting to ask you something." Jim said, whispering into her ear.  
"Hmm?"  
Jim could feel his heart beating in his throat. "I really like you, and I was wondering if you liked me too." There was a pause. "More than a friend, I mean..." But before Jim could finish what he wanted to say, Alison spoke.  
"Yes."  
"Yes?"  
"Yes, I like you."  
"More than a friend?" Jim felt Alison nod her head against him. The moment was now or never. "Alison, would you go out with me?"  
Alison lifted her head and looked up at him. His pretty blue eyes looked worried, but the softness in her brown eyes told him not to worry. She smiled. "Yes," was her answer. "I would really love to be your girlfriend."  
A weight lifted from Jim's shoulders. He could hardly contain his excitement. And just before the song ended, he leaned in and kissed her, completely forgetting about the others around them.

Alison's lips were soft and warm; he didn't think he'd ever get this far...with any girl. But that fact that it was Alison, a girl he was crazy about, made him feel like the luckiest teenage boy in the world.  
 _Where do I put my hands? Am I holding her too tight? How do you kiss someone?  
_ These were the thoughts running through Jim's head as his lips continued to brush against Alison's.  
Was kissing her in front of all these people okay? Would she get in trouble with her dad?  
The moment was spoiled as soon as a buzz came between them. Alison pulled away first, reaching into hidden pocket in her dress and pulled out her phone. Her brows furrowed and her face turned into a frown.  
"Is it your dad?" asked Jim. Alison only had to nod once. "It's only ten-thirty, though." Jim pulled his phone out of her pocket to check the time. By now the song was over and a new, more up to beat song was taking its place; the romantic moment was over.  
"I have to go."  
"I'll walk you out."  
"No!" Alison realized how abrupt she had been and cleared her throat. "You can walk me to the end of the hall, but not outside."  
Jim nodded, understanding that her dad would probably kill them both if they were shown alone together. "Okay, that's fine." Jim played it cool, not wanting her to feel bad.

As they left the gym and headed down the hall, Alison pulled Jim around a corner without warning and pulled him in for another kiss. She held his by the front his shirt and stood on the tip of her toes. A soft and unexpected moan came out of Jim's mouth. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and the moment it ended, Jim was left stunned and unsure how to keep himself composed. Alison had left him feeling dazed.  
"This is as far as we can go. I have to walk the rest of the way by myself." She told him. Jim nodded dumbly, the effects of her lips on his still lingered, making him feel all giddy inside.  
"Okay, but where's your coat?" He didn't want her being cold.  
"In my locker." She jammed her thumb over her shoulder indicating that her locker was just down the hall.  
"Okay. I'll see you at school on Monday then."  
Alison nodded, leaning in and giving Jim a kiss on the cheek before turning on her heel. "See you later!" She called out.

Once Alison was gone, Jim slumped against a locker; the muffled music playing in the gym was hardly noticed by him. He touched his lips still feeling super happy. That was his first kiss. For the first time in a long time Jim felt like he was on top of the world. Nothing could hurt him or get him down because the prettiest girl in school was now his girlfriend.

 **Review please?**


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